We're happy to drink bottled water to that

Since the first advertisement for Mount Franklin spring water appeared in 1994, Australia has had a growing love affair with bottled water.

Its popularity is linked to our increased awareness of supposed health and well-being aims such as drinking eight glasses of water a day and reducing sugar intake, as well as a dissatisfaction with the taste of tap water, according to the IBISWorld industry report on bottled-water production in Australia.

Bottled water is one of the most popular non-alcoholic beverages in Australia. Each year we collectively drink about 600 million litres of bottled water. Sales jumped from $324.7 million in 1998-99 to $600.7 million last year, an increase of 85 per cent, IBISWorld senior industry analyst Naren Sivasailam says.

Spring water dominates the market with 54.2 per cent of all sales. Carbonated and non-carbonated mineral waters account for 17.3 per cent, bulk and packaged waters, such as Frantelle and Neverfail, comprise 14.7 per cent while purified water, such as Pump, is 13.8 per cent of the market.

Globally, about 200 billion litres of packaged water is consumed each year - double the figure of 10 years ago. Bottled-water sales are predicted to outstrip the popularity of carbonated drinks by 2015, especially in Asia, according to a report by researcher Canadean.

''This anticipated result is being bolstered by its healthy image, plus actual necessity in those areas of the world lacking alternative, safe water supplies,'' the report says.

However, other countries far outrank Australia when it comes to the amount of water consumed on a per-capita basis. A United Nations report on the world's water shows the top-10 countries in consumption of bottled water (per capita) in 2010 were Mexico (243 litres a person a year), Italy (187), United Arab Emirates (153), Belgium (148), Germany (134), France (132), Spain (124), Lebanon (121), Thailand (114) and Hungary (111).

On a per-capita basis, each Australian drinks an average of 33 litres of bottled water a year.

Supermarkets and department stores account for 35.4 per cent of bottled-water sales. The fastest-growing market is convenience stores and petrol stations, which attract 32.7 per cent of all sales. Pubs, hotels and restaurants account for 14.5 per cent, with sales dominated by sparkling mineral water, including European brands such as Perrier and San Pellegrino.

Environmental opposition to bottled water from customers has prompted some venues to install filtration systems for their reticulated water.

Home and office delivery of bottled water accounts for 11 per cent of the market, while 5.3 per cent of sales is attributed to sporting and entertainment venues, vending machines and natural-disaster relief. Exported bottled water accounts for just 1 per cent of all sales.