How water defeated soda to become America's number one drink

Who needs a soda ban? Americans are switching to water anyway

Water soda
(Image credit: Illustration by Graeme Robertson/Getty Images)

For now, New Yorkers can continue to chug as many 64-ounce jugs of Mountain Dew as they want, thanks to a last-minute ruling by the New York Supreme Court calling the city's limits on sugary drinks "arbitrary and capricious." It was a major defeat for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but he can find solace in a new report that says water has overtaken soda as America's favorite drink.

Yes, H2O, nature's answer to Crystal Pepsi, has finally reclaimed the title it held for millions of years as our preferred liquid of choice, according to The Associated Press. A new report by Beverage Digest shows that the average American drinks 58 gallons of water a year, a 38 percent increase from 1998's average of 42 gallons. Back then, the numbers were reversed: Americans quaffed 54 gallons of soda a year, 23 percent more than the 44 gallons we drink now.

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Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.