Tap or faucet water, depending on which continent you reside, has been commonplace since the middle of the 20th century but was in fact available during the latter part of the 19th. Although a huge infrastructure is required to process and distribute our water under pressure, it’s cost is insignificant in relation to the cost of bottled water – depending on brand etc, up to 1,000 times the cost of processing and distributing the same amount of our tap / faucet water.

Our tap water brings us many health benefits, not least of all the fact that it is processed to remove any dangerous contaminants. Our water is governed by strict legislation across the globe and while it can contain various chemicals, again depending upon your location, these are used to improve and preserve the water until we drink it. Fluoride is added in many areas and the jury’s out on that one regarding pros and cons. Many other naturally occurring minerals such as calcium carbonate can be present and metal ions like magnesium and iron which are all relatively harmless. Test kits are available for those who are unsure or worried about the state of their supply.

Groundwater is affected by local conditions and these ultimately shape the water you drink. Occasionally there may be a disasterous chemical spill which will alter our local water and in these cases, although thankfully few, we are advised to drink bottled alternatives until it is safe to do otherwise.

So what is Potable Water? Water which is fit for our consumption is classed as Potable Water, whether it is natural such as spring water or processed. It’s all drinking water.

Our tap water is delivered to us through a huge network of plumbing and pipes. The composition of these pipes has changed drastically over the years to a point today where the vast majority of pipes have seen replacement with copper or brass. Plastic has seen an increase in popularity quite recently but it cannot keep our water as clean. Copper is bacteriostatic which means that it is capable of inhibiting the growth and reproduction of bacteria – plastics are not and can indeed harbor bacteria. The one drawback of copper was that the solder used to connect the copper pipe, was composed of lead and tin in equal amounts. Even though the water flowing through our pipes usually coats the interior with mineral deposits, effectively sealing of the lead, United States regulations and those across much of the globe now stipulate the use of virtually lead free solder to prevent lead leaching into our drinking water. Copper pipes can also corrode and pit with cold water.

And now we come to our favorite all time question – is our tap water supply better quality than bottled water? It depends on where you are in the world and where your tap water originates from, what sort of pipes it flows through and whether you have any third party filtration system or purifier in place. It also depends on what brand of bottled water you are comparing it to. There is no hard and fast rule and what one person says the next will disagree with. If you want to try and improve it, install a filter system.

The thing to remember is that most water in the civilized world, be it from taps, faucets, bottles or even your refrigerator, is regulated and falls within the recommended guidelines set for chemical, contaminant, mineral and impurity levels. Our view is that if we can make improvements by using filters or other sensible routes, then why not. What is clear is that our water doesn’t necessarily need to be pure to benefit our health.

Hard water, whilst not a health risk can create a large number of problems for us because the inherent large numbers of dissolved minerals which make the water ‘hard’ in the first place build up in our pipes, taps and appliances. The high mineral content in hard water also stops our soaps and detergents doing their job. The main two components of hard water are calcium carbonate and magnesium. The higher the content of these two minerals, the ‘harder’ the chemistry of the water.

The harder the water, the more prominent the problems associated with it. Even after washing, our clothes, skin and hair can feel and look lifeless and rough. Our dishes, especially if you use a dishwasher, can be covered in hard to clean off stain spots or cloudy film on glasses. Our hot water systems are more at risk as the heat will intensify the situation. Pipes and appliances blocked with scale causing ineffective flow or complete failure are commonplace. If left untreated, the cost from an increase in charges from our energy suppliers can be as much as 25% – more overall if our systems fail and we have to renew appliances, pipework and even boilers.

So are there any benefits of Hard Water?

Sure. We all need calcium and magnesium in our diets and hard water can provide part of that, especially in areas where the mineral content is extremely high. If we could remove some of the minerals and change the properties of the calcium ions to stop the formation of limescale, this hard water would actually be pretty good for us and our appliances etc.

Is there anything we can do to lessen the effects of Hard Water?

We don’t have to do much to lessen the effects of hard water…

- There are detergents specially formulated to work with hard water, washing powders and other soap products that are specially formulated to deal with different degrees of hardness.

- Reducing the temperature of our boilers to around 50 degrees will ensure that deposits are reduced but also give us plenty of hot water for showers and baths.

- Most dishwashers today have the facility to include rinse aids which will help combat the effects

- Using one of many water conditioners, water softeners or even electromagnetic systems attached to your pipes can help further.

How do you know how hard your water is? Ask your supplier. Municipal water suppliers will have this information for you. If your water is from a private supply then there are numerous testing kits on the market to do self testing.

There are a variety of ways to treat hard water including carbon filters, softeners, reverse osmosis and electromagnetic conditioners. Some work better than others and obviously cost will also be a major issue. Unfortunately a good deal of sodium is added during the ’softening’ process which is not great for our health and so filters and the electromagnetic conditioners are considered the best answer as reverse osmosis is quite an expensive option.

Not only are the rivers being tested but they will also test the tap water after it has been through the water-treatment cycle. A number of the most common and potentially dangerous prescription drugs will be tested for and the river Thames seems to be the prime target due to its catchment area covering the most densely populated part of the country.

Anti-cancer drugs are the main problem as they can be excreted unaltered from the body and are difficult to remove by conventional water-treatment. 50 or so of these drugs are used by patients in Britain and researchers are concerned they may have an additive effect.

For the full story… The Independent