Michelle Patterson can rarely be seen on campus without her little bottle of filtered water.

"I'm here all day, so I always take a bottle of water with me," she said, adding that she has been carrying water with her since the beginning of this semester.

Patterson (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) is just one of many who have joined in the bottled-water craze that has hit State College.

"We sell 500 to 600 12-ounce bottles a week in the HUB," said David Gingher, manager of the HUB Eateries. "That's quite a bit."

Students cited many reasons for drinking bottled water. Some choose to drink it because they dislike the local water.

"When I first come to school after a vacation, the water makes me sick because I'm not used to it," said Janine Hermann (junior-elementary education). She added that she only drinks tap water when it has been mixed with something else.

Karen Newburg (junior-broadcast cable) said she thinks the local water has a strong chlorine taste.

"The water around here is too metallic, too chlorine-y . . . how good can chlorine be for you?" she said.

The State College Water Authority, 1201 W. Branch Rd., said there is no danger from drinking the water here. Warren Miller, customer service manager for the water authority, said if the water does taste bad to some, it's because of the pipes it must pass through before it reaches local buildings.

Miller said water taken directly from the water authority's wells doesn't have a metallic or chlorine taste.

He said the water authority tests its water daily and goes beyond the tests required by the state and federal governments. In bacteria tests, the water authority takes 75 samples, instead of the required 50, he said.

But there is still a noticeable demand for bottled water. One local company, Aqua Penn Spring Water, 3035 Research Drive, is ready to meet that demand.

Aqua Penn was founded in 1987, company President Ed Lauth said. He said he started the company because it seemed as though the water quality in this country would continue to decline.

"I felt that people would want and need pure water," he said.

Lauth said Aqua Penn has experienced 50 to 70 percent growth each year since its opening. He added that Aqua Penn is one of the fastest growing bottled water companies in the country, shipping water as far as California.

But bottled water isn't that popular with Carol Morin (sophomore-broadcast cable), who said cost and time constraints prevent her from buying it.

"If I had the time or the money or the memory to pick it up, I think I would do it, but I'm lazy," she said.