中国饮用水安全正面临双重挑战。一方面，政府巨额投资，力争保障国民饮用水安全，但从城镇到农村，公共供水服务均等化挑战重重。另一方面，出于对公共供水水质的担忧和不信任，公众正在远离自来水。作为替代品的瓶装水，在中国迅速发展，催生了千亿规模市场。然而，瓶装水生命周期里背负的高水耗和高能耗，以及一次性消费后产生的塑料垃圾，挑战了中国的水资源、能源和固废管理政策，并可能进一步挑战中央政府设立的保障饮用水安全目标。
Drinking water safety in China faces two challenges. On one hand，the government has invested billions to secure drinking water safety，yet from cities to counties，primary obstacles remain to be tackled before realizing equal public service on water supply. On the other hand，concerns and distrust on water quality have driven those who have enjoyed tap water service away. On the contrast，more and more consumers choose to drink bottled water as alternative to tap water and as a result，domestic market of bottled water which is worth of hundreds of billions per year is on the rise. The water and energy intensive nature of bottled water industry as well as the disposable consumption model have challenged multiple national policies on water，energy and solid waste management. And it may further challenge the comprehensive target set by the central government of securing drinking water safety.
