The designer water market could be the greatest snow job since
the ice age.  Treated H2O from a faucet is virtually free,
certifiably potable and plentiful.  But sensitive drinkers
(nearly half the country) believe their tap water is yucky
and/or risky.  They either pay to refilter spigot water, so they
know it’s pristine, or they buy at premium prices eau-so-cool
elixirs in bottles.  These imbibers are so smart they require
smart water with rousing stories.  They sip prehistoric Berg
Water, harvested from Greenland icebergs formed 15,000 years
ago. (Call it the beverage of choice for the prehistoric paleo
diet.)  Perrier, the French mineral water, is drawn “naturally
sparkling from the center of the Earth,” a sci-fi fantasy out of
Jules Verne. Looking skyward, Palomar’s “pure spring water
source is high on the mountain above the smog level.”  Or my
favorite narrative, Valley Center’s SolarRain uses sun power to
convert seawater into drinking water that’s delivered in
biodegradable plastic bottles.  Slaking t