WASHINGTON (CBSDC) — Is there really a big difference between bottled and tap water? Aside from the cost, D.C. Water says ‘no.’

To prove its point, the utility is conducting blind taste tests, matching tap water versus bottled water, and seeing if people can tell the difference.

Similar experiments last year revealed most people either preferred the taste of the tap water or couldn’t tell a difference.

“They’re very close,” one tester tells WNEW. “There’s wasn’t much difference.”

According to D.C. Water, a gallon of tap water costs a penny while bottled water costs 100 times more.

The blind tests will be conducted each Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Oct. 10.

Taste Test Locations

Aug. 22
Sweetgreen
2221 I Street, NW

Aug. 29
Whole Foods (Tenley Circle)
4530 40th Street, NW

Sept. 5, 2012
Petworth Metro
3700 Georgia Avenue, NW

Sept. 12
Home Depot
901 Rhode Island Avenue, NE

Sept. 19
Southwest Waterfront
1100 4th Street, SW

Sept. 26
Penn-Branch Shopping Center
3220 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE

Oct. 3
Ward 8 Constituent Building
2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE

Oct. 10
Columbia Heights Metro
3030 14th Street, NW

WNEW’s John Domen contributed to this report. Follow him on Twitter at @JD211.