It was being done in Belgium in 1583: "Spa's source is located in the valley of the Ardennes in Belgium. It was first discovered by ancient Romans and in 1583 was the first bottled water to be exported to no one less than King Henri II of France. Along with Spa's first steps in developing an international bottled water industry it also inadvertently exported the town's name, Spa, which became synonymous with most natural springs and health resorts." ---http://www.bottledwaterweb.com/bott/bt_300sprien.html Bottled water consumption has been steadily growing IN THE WORLD for the past 30 years. It is the most dynamic sector of all the food and beverage industry: consumption in the world increases by an average 12% each year, in spite of its excessively high price compared to tap water. ---http://www.wateryear2003.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5226&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html It seems to have taken off IN THE U.S. around 1976 (remember Perrier? I'll never forget the parody ad in THE NATIONAL LAMPOON for "Terrier -- naturally sparkling water from the center of a dog."). To see a year-by-year chart of how U.S. consumption has increased since 1976, look at: http://www.bottledwater.org/public/volume%20growth%20and%20consumption.htm IN THE U.S., it took off at a time when alcohol consumption was lowering, there was a fitness craze and there were concerns about tap water safety. ---http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~es196/projects/2003final/Martin.pdf The Bottled Water market IN THE U.K. was first established several centuries ago when the beneficial properties of Mineral and Spring Water was recognised and it was hoped that people could benefit from these properties without visiting the particular Spring or Well. Historically, this Mineral Water market gradually developed but during the mid 19th century the artificial Mineral Water market became a commercial viability for many entrepreneurs. This in turn lead to the emergence of the Soft Drinks market as we know it today which of course is a very large and sophisticated market in modern terms. Underlying the move from artificial Mineral Water to Soft Drinks was a fundamental change in the use of the products. Whilst in the early days Mineral Waters were drunk for their medicinal values, soft drinks of course are drunk primarily for their ability to refresh and be enjoyed. ---http://www.bath.ac.uk/lispring/sourcearchive/fs5/fs5beo1.htm === Other Bottled Water Trivia: In a 2001 survey, the World Wildlife Fund estimated that people ALL OVER THE WORLD drink about 89 billion liters of bottled water a year (1 billion liters = 1 gigaliter = 1 Gl). This is worth about 22 million US dollars. IN THE US, Americans drink about 13 billions liters of bottled water. A 2000 report conducted by Yankelovich Partneers of the Rockefeller University discovered that 2.3 eight ounce servings of the total 6.1 servings of water that are consumed daily are bottled water in the US. ---http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/NaomiSaintJean.shtml According to the IBWA (International Bottled Water Association), about 75% of the bottled water sold IN THE U.S. comes from natural sources. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines different types of bottled water on the basis of (1) its water source and (2) its chemical composition at the time that it is drawn from the source. >Artesian Water/Artesian Well Water is water drawn from a confined aquifer where water under pressure rises above the water table. >Spring Water can be collected only at the spring or from a bore hole adjacent to the spring that taps the aquifer feeding the spring. The properties of the water drawn from the bore hole must be the same as that of the water in the spring. >Well Water derives from a hole bored or drilled that taps the water of an aquifer. This water must be pumped to the surface. >Purified Water is produced through distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis or some other water treatment process. This water originates as either tap water (i.e., from a municipal system) or groundwater. Depending upon the water treatment process used, other acceptable names include distilled water, purified drinking water, distilled drinking water and deionized water. >Mineral Water contains more than 250 ppm of total dissolved solids (FDA standard) which are present at the point of emergence from the source. No minerals can be added to this water nor can it be drawn from a municipal source. In Europe, any recognized spring water with minerals can be called mineral water. >Sparkling Water contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had when it was drawn from the source. Soda water, seltzer water and tonic are not considered bottled waters. ---http://www.gem.msu.edu/gw/btl_wtr.html

I assume you mean in modern-day times. people started drinking more bottled water, rather than tap water, when the population of the united states began to explode. demand for safe water became so constant, that a new water source had to be located. converting sea water to tap water, met many obstacles and not feasible. so, the governments turned to the bodies of river water throughout the united states. even the supply of river water could not meet the demand, until chlorine was introduced to bring the water to a safe, standard level. the stigma of dead humans, dead animal carcasses, and human feces in river water, has turned americans away from drinking tap water. in my tap water, the smell of chlorine will knock you out. the bottled water business in america, is a billion dollar a year industry. hopefully, you now know when and why.

I THINK ABOUT 8 YEARS AGO.

after living in las vegas.