Generally, tap water in the US doesn't have a pleasant taste, often accompanied by a strong chlorine odor. It's therefore understandable why many people opt for bottled water. Improving filtration or treatment methods seems like the best solution to cut down on the number of bottles.
This is community/water district specific and so is not so easily generalized. I've lived in Kansas City and Denver and neither have this issue. But in my brother's city yes it's an issue.
It is incredibly location and house dependent. My childhood friends' houses were a mixed bag of good and bad. Every house I've lived in has had acceptable tap water. The houses I've stayed in on coastal vacations have had bad tap water, and my college dorm had awful tap water.
I'm glad all of the houses I've lived in have had good tap.
