Do we really know what we consume in our day-to-day life?
For the better of nature and society, water pollution has been a widely discussed topic in the last decade. More and more people are happy to support the good cause to defeat this global threat. Yet still, what seems to be left under the surface are the little everyday things which are not believed to be mandatory but nevertheless beneficial. That is the knowledge of what we put in our bodies and mostly what type of water we drink.
The good news is that taking a small step may turn into a valuable daily habit. That is why we will get a grasp on the 3 main types of drinking water: Spring water, tap water, and filtered water. In order to make them more differentiable, we are also going to look into the benefits of each one.
Spring Water
Spring water is the most common form of bottled water. Extraction of it comes from an underground source and may be sold both raw and treated/purified. A common misunderstanding is that spring water is similar or interchangeable with pure water. Although the idea of spring water sounds appealing as it is believed to come from a natural source, a lot of companies label their bottled water as spring water, although the source of it is a complete mystery. Brilliantly done marketing often leaves people with the impression of a natural and pleasant product when thinking of spring water.
The sad reality is that most spring water is not bottled at the source, but rather pumped into large tanker trucks to be transported to the bottling facility. For the water to be protected from contamination while in transit to the factory, it needs to be chlorinated or ozonated. Taking this into consideration, spring water and tap water have mostly no differences in the treatment through which they go. The only process which differentiates the two types of water is carbon filtration used to remove excess chlorine, which spring water goes through once it reaches the bottling facility.
Benefits of Spring Water
If spring water is genuine and natural, it may possess some great benefits:
- Microorganisms and microbes are gathered on the water’s journey through its underground source. While consumed through the water, the organisms bring great benefits to the body and promote a healthy balanced system.
- Sodium, magnesium, calcium, and bicarbonate are important minerals which spring water contains.
Filtered Water
Filtered water combines mostly the advantages from both spring and tap water. But what exactly is filtered water and why is it so beneficial? To put it simply, it is tapped water that has been filtered. Although it does not sound amazing, the process of actually filtering the water distinguishes it from the other two types. If done right, water filtration manages to get rid of harmful particles and pollutants most effectively. For tap water used for domestic purposes to become filtered water, it either needs to pass through a filter screen or a filter media bed to eliminate harmful substances.
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Benefits of Filtered Water
Some great benefits of filtered water include:
- It’s free from water impurities. Dangerous contaminants are removed but the important minerals remain.
- Due to a low carbon footprint, water filtration has significant environmental benefits.
- Having fresh water in a drink bottle holder is very convenient, especially when you go on long trips, hiking, or engaging in outdoor activities, as it allows for easy access to hydration while keeping your hands free.
Tap Water
Unfortunately, this type of water is processed with rather basic filtration techniques like flocculation, which also produces chemicals in the water to get particles to coagulate and float so that they can be removed. Other so called primitive filtration techniques are sand filtration, which filters out large pieces of debris, or chlorination, which adds chlorine to exterminate bacteria and microorganisms.
Despite tap water being considered drinkable, although this is controversial varying on location, it can lead to numerous problems. A major one that does not get paid enough attention is high chlorine levels, which can be extremely unhealthy for human consumption—while our bodies can technically handle it, chlorine can cause a variety of health complications and is potentially cancerous.
Although tap water is the cheapest water option available, it comes with several compromises. As people are concerned about how the food they consume is produced and about the additives and chemicals in it, they should raise the same concerns about their tap water.
Benefits of Tap Water
Although tap water is not the safest choice, here are some benefits for consumers who are willing to close their eyes for its harms:
- The environmental impact is much lower than of bottled water as it does not require plastic or other disposable containers.
- Unarguably its biggest convenience is low cost.
Be Aware of What You Drink!
Living in the era of information, people should be well aware of what they drink. No matter what type of water we choose we should first take into consideration its price, health, and ecological benefits as well as harms.
