Care to See the Water Menu?

Feb. 8, 2008— -- Water is essential for life: It covers more than 70 percent of Earth's surface and the human body is more than 50 percent water. We use gallons of the stuff every day to wash, water, flush and drink.

But now, after millions of years, the way we look at water is changing. This simple substance is being transformed from a necessity into a luxury.

People are now prepared to spend $40 for what they can get through their tap at home for a fraction of a cent. What's going on?

Claridge's, a luxury hotel in London, actually has a water menu. Patrons can choose from 30 selections imported from all over the world.

For the most refined palette there is Fine artesian water from Japan at $30 a bottle and $40 a bottle, or Mahaolo from Hawaii, described on the menu as "rare deep sea water" that is "very old." And Just Born Spring Drops from India is apparently "light and not aggressive," at $42 per bottle.

The madness at Claridge's started a year ago when a request for Berg, a high-end water harvested from the icebergs of Newfoundland set the hotel on a six-month research project to find 30 waters for the menu.

Despite the effort and high prices, Claridge's public relations manager, Gill Christophers, said it was well worth putting posh H20 on the menu.

"Breadth of choice is what Claridge's is all about, so it's not ridiculous at all," Christophers said. "We're a business, so we wouldn't do this unless there was a demand for it. The guest is asking not just for a glass of water."

Christophers said that the guests' taste for water has gotten so specific that they not only ask for berg water or glacial water but water with no sodium content or water fortified with calcium and magnesium.

"People are so very, very careful about what they eat these days that it's moved into water," said Christophers.