The impact of bottled water on household expenditures in Mexico: is it a public policy problem?

The right to sufficient, affordable, and high-quality water is internationally recognized by various resolutions. Despite global progress, there is still a long way to go to achieve this objective, especially for vulnerable households. This lack of compliance leads households to seek alternative sources, such as bottled water. Through statistical analysis and means tests, this study estimated that bottled water consumption in Mexican households amounts to approximately USD 1,405 million per year: 19.9% by the first three deciles and 42.3% by the last three deciles. Similarly, the study shows that households without daily access to piped water spend a total of USD 503 million on bottled water out of necessity. Households with daily access to piped water spend USD 902 million on bottled water, consuming it for pleasure or due to mistrust of the quality of piped water. Thus, there is a need for hydric policies to consider vulnerable groups more, through efficient investment allocation and improved piped water quality, as well as accurate information about the quality of this resource, to incentivize its consumption.