I live in the Phoenix area. Our tap water won't kill you, but it tastes nasty. That's because aside from the hardness, it's so full of chlorine to kill the bacteria, amoebas, and fungus that might kill you otherwise, it's like drinking swimming pool water. Anyone who can afford it has a reverse osmosis filter for drinking water. Anyone who can't afford it buys bottled water, which is probably why they can't afford the filter...