We often think that bottled water is safer but in France, tap water is water that is treated and disinfected, according to our partner The Conversation.
On the other hand, bottled water has more impact on the environment than tap water.
This analysis was conducted by Flavie Cernesson, lecturer in hydrology and Yvan Altchenko, head of the specialized master's in water management.
Thank you for your question which a lot of people are asking.
Besides, there are several questions in one: is it better for taste, for health, for the environment?
For your taste buds, a different taste
People often choose to drink bottled water because they think it tastes better than tap water, and it's true that their tastes can be different.
The taste of water comes from mineral salts and trace elements.
Water that comes from groundwater is in contact with rocks and will have more minerals than water that comes from a river.
Bottled water comes mainly from groundwater and springs, while tap water can also be taken from lakes and rivers: this is the case for almost 40% of tap water in France.
Tap water may taste unpleasant due to the chlorine used to sanitize it, but just leave the jug of water uncapped in the fridge for a few hours and the chlorine smell and taste will go away.
For your health, tap water is good
People often think that bottled water is safer, but in France, tap water is water that is treated and disinfected.
It is checked regularly and subject to very strict health standards that allow us to drink it without risk every day, in sufficient quantity for our needs and throughout our lives.
We therefore say that tap water is drinkable.
Bottled water is not always drinkable, as some mineral water does not necessarily meet these standards and it is not advisable to drink the same mineral water every day.
Indeed, consuming too much or too little of certain minerals is not good for your health over time.
For the environment, limit plastic bottles
A bottle abandoned in nature takes between 100 to 1000 years to degrade © PxHere
Also know that drinking bottled water has more impact on the environment than drinking tap water.
Bottled water passes through a bottling plant, a storage center, stores and the consumer's car.
On average, it is estimated that it travels 300 kilometers to reach our glasses.
Then, a plastic bottle will end its life in an incinerator, be recycled (1 bottle out of 2 is recycled) and, in the worst case, be left in nature where it takes between 100 to 1000 years to degrade.
Our "DRINKING WATER" file
Finally, having clean tap water is a luxury that many people in some countries don't have, so don't hesitate to drink it!
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This analysis was written by Flavie Cernesson, lecturer in hydrology and Yvan Altchenko, head of the specialized master's in water management (both at AgroParisTech – Paris-Saclay University).
The original article was published on The Conversation website.
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