Let's Talk About Water...

13th August 2018


You may not know this, but August is actually water quality month! That’s right, a whole month to raise awareness and make you think about the quality of water you are buying and drinking.

We here at SHO wanted to investigate to find out what the difference is between spring, mineral and tap water, and ultimately find out which one is best for you AND the environment.

What is water quality and how is it tested?
That is a very good question! Each country has different rules, regulations and varieties of testing with regards to water quality, so for this post as we are based in the UK, that is the area we will focus on today.
The quality of water is determined by what is safe and what it is suited for. For example, some water sources will be suited for human consumption, some will be ecosystem safe and some will be used for animal consumption.
The water is tested by independent bodies across the country and around 80% of this water is sourced from lakes, rivers and streams from all over the UK. If you want to read more about the the testing and the nitty gritty details then click here! 

All over the internet, you will find websites stating that our bodies are made up of 50%, 60%, 70%, and even 80% water. Basically, we need water and it is essential for our day to day survival (nothing new here!), but there is so much conflicting information about what we should drink, what we shouldn’t drink and how much we should drink.

Back in the early 2000’s, there were numerous reports about certain prescription drugs being found in tap water.  Rivers and streams that were primary supplies of British drinking water had become contaminated. Cue a panic as the general public questioned how safe the water that they were drinking was. As this concern continued, there entered a solution to their fears..
And so began the bottled water boom!


Bottled water has been hailed as both convenient and also a ‘healthier’ option what with added nutrients and mineral benefits. Pair along with that the fact that touting a bottle from the latest trending water company was seen as ‘cool’, these combination of factors have now caused a stigma towards the trusty tap and the water that flows so freely from it.

It is rare nowadays to see people asking for tap water in restaurants, for fear of being rejected or ‘looking cheap’, despite the fact that since 2010, any restaurant in England and Wales that serves alcohol is legally required to give customers free tap water.

Let’s have a look at spring, mineral and tap water in a little more detail.
Spring Water

This comes from the earth - literally! Sourced from aquifer deep underground, this water is the most natural and in its purest form.

Of course, natural is always the best way forward as it removes any handling or outside interference, however these springs are few and far between, which is why this water is only available in bottled water form (for those of us that don’t happen to have a natural spring in our back garden!)

In order to be classed as natural spring water, it must be bottled at the source and cannot be treated or filtered.

The main trace minerals found in spring water are Magnesium, Calcium, Sodium and Potassium - all of which are essential minerals for our bodies to function normally. Spring water provides an easy way to consume these nutrients quickly and of course helps to keep us hydrated as well.

An added benefit to sourcing water this way is that each water source can have multiple collection points, such as wells in the same area; if one area becomes contaminated or does not meet the regulations in place, then the water is simply sourced from a different place within the same aquifer (a rock which has the water).
Mineral Water

The difference between spring water and mineral water is very subtle.

Sourced from a naturally occurring spring deep underground (just like spring water), this body of water has added minerals that have been naturally filtered into it during its journey to the surface. To be considered as ‘true’ mineral water it must contain a minimum of 250 ppm (parts per million) of the mineral.

Again, just like spring water, mineral water needs to be bottled at the source, and cannot be treated or filtered.

So the main difference between spring and mineral water is that mineral water must have a stable and characteristic mineral composition.

Also, mineral water must be free flowing!
Tap Water

We are fortunate enough to live in a country which has one of the highest qualities of tap water available throughout the whole world (a compliance rating of 99.96%).

As we have said previously, the UK’s tap water mainly comes from rivers and lakes across the country which is replenished by rainfall. Water companies pump this water to their treatment plants from reservoirs and then screen this to remove any large objects before treating the water for any impurities. Each treatment process is different depending on the company, but usually a solution is added to make any impurities bigger and then the water is put through two filters to remove the impurities.

The water is tested at every stage to ensure it is of the highest quality, and in line with legislation. It is then pumped through a network of pipes to reach every household.

Chlorine is usually found in trace amounts (approximately 1 mg/L) as this is added to water during the treatment process (to stop any nasties!) but this is perfectly safe. You can encounter chlorine in its various compounds throughout your day to day lives, be it going for a swim at your local pool, cleaning your toilet with some disinfectant, or putting some salt on your chip supper.

Calcium and Magnesium can also be found in most tap water!
So where does this leave us?

It’s fair to say that in the UK we have excellent water sources, be it from either a bottle or a tap!

Because of this, I think in actuality instead of concentrating on the quality of our water, we need to be concentrating on other ways our choices can impact the environment and the world around us.

It takes an enormous 22 gallons (83 liters) of water to make 1 pound (454g) of plastic.
To put this in perspective, it takes 3 times as much water as the bottle can hold, to make the plastic bottle that the water will then sit in (if you are interested in how much water it takes to make everyday objects then check this website out).
We are are advised by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for women to drink 2 litres a day and men to drink 2.5 litres a day; now imagine if that was all bottled. As there are 65.6 million people in the UK, if we were all to consume the required amount of water from plastic bottles, approximately 131.2 million 1 liter plastic bottles would be used. And that is just in one day. One day!

10% of all plastic waste ends up at the bottom of the ocean; so during that one day of water bottle usage, 13.12 million 1 litre bottles would end up on the bottom of the ocean. And those bottles that don’t end up on the bottom of the ocean, if not recycled, will be around on this planet for 500 years before they fully decompose.

Now that is an enormous impact on the environment to pay for the convenience of bottled water.

Water is water and as long as it is safe, any type of water will keep us just as hydrated as any other. The potential added benefits of nutrients from spring and mineral water is not really necessary due to the fact we tend to get all of the nutrients we need from our diets.

So in conclusion, there are no real stark added benefits from drinking spring or mineral water over tap water; they hydrate our bodies all the same.

Let’s face it, at the end of the day it’s all just H20.

For those of you that want to read more about this, check out these reference sites we used for the facts and figures:

http://www.environmentlaw.org.uk/rte.asp?id=291

Hannah Biksadsky