NORTHFIELD — Choices in bottled water are as varied as the colors and shapes of the brands that line store shelves.

But what’s going on inside the bottle? Is there any difference between water you buy, and the water that comes out of your tap at home?

Tess Dornfeld, Carleton Sophmore (right), administers the Tap Water Challenge to fellow student and Carleton freshman, Jeff Maneval (left).

Corporate Accountability International, an organization that challenges corporate abuse, was invited to Carleton College at the behest of campus environmental groups and Amnesty International to organize a Tap Water Challenge, as part of its Think Outside The Bottle Campaign.

The initiative is aimed at challenging corporate control of water.

By performing a blind taste test between bottled water and tap water, participants were asked to guess which was which.

“Since several bottled waters on the market today are bottled from tap water sources, it is almost impossible to tell the difference between the two,” said Amber Collett, the Midwest organizer for Corporate Accountability International, whose Think Outside the Bottle

Campaign left many restaurants in the St. Paul and Minneapolis areas resolved not to serve bottled water in their establishments, opting for tap water instead.

Passing Carleton students were offered four paper cups of water. Two cups were filled with bottled water, including Coca-Cola’s Dasani, and Pepsi’s Aquafina. The other two cups were filled with tap water. One from Minneapolis, and the other from Northfield. Students drank the water, made their guesses on a ballot, and then learned the results from their taste test.

“The test was intriguing, I thought for sure I would be able to tell the difference between the waters,” said Jeff Maneval, a Carleton freshman. “I was completely wrong. I’m from Philadelphia, the water tastes different in Minnesota. I had no idea which was bottled or tap.”

“Tests like these challenge the widely held beliefs by the public that bottled water is some how better for them,” said Collett. “They learn that there is little difference in taste, or filtration between bottled water and tap.”

Collett and the CAI are concerned that as people spend more money on bottled water, that less is spent on upgrading the aging public water infrastructure.

How many public drinking fountains do you see these days?

The CAI’s Think Outside the Bottle Campaign challenges the idea that large corporations can bottle and sell tap water back to the public, making a profit on something the CAI believes is “a human right and not something to be bought and sold for profit.”

It is hoped that by limiting the consumption of bottled water, the effects will be felt far beyond the wallet. Plastic water bottles present a huge problem as they consume more space in landfills, since many never reach recycling centers. Then there’s the question of health concerns. Recent controversy over health problems being linked to toxins found in various kinds of plastic used in water bottle manufacturing, has been making headlines all over the country.

This test got students from colleges and universities in Minnesota, and nationwide, to think about their health and that of the environment.

“The Tap Water Challenge at Carleton was very successful,” said Collett. “Over 60 students stopped by and took the taste test. They were all surprised at the results. Very few people ever guess correctly, and participants will admit that usually has more to do with luck than anything else. Making small changes, like carrying tap water in aluminum or stainless steel containers, can make a big difference.”

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