Drinking Water Overview

Water is essential to life; the human body cannot go for more than three days without it. Having fresh, clean water available is still a concern amongst many countries where dirty water often leads to illness, disease and in the worst cases often death.

Whilst it’s often said that in the UK you should drink six to eight glasses of water a day the actual amount you should consume will vary depending on things such as your age, height, weight, and your activity levels. Of course we all know the benefits of staying hydrated, a clearer mind, better skin, quicker reactions, even if we start to become slightly dehydrated it can cause a noticeable impact.

In the UK about a third of our tap water comes from underground sources, in Northern Ireland and Scotland this figure is 6% and 3%, respectively. The remainder comes from surface water sources such as Lakes, reservoirs and rivers. Underground sources of water tend to be relatively clean when compared with surface water, being exposed to direct environmental input means that the latter require further treatment to get the water in a safe condition to consume.

Of course good clean drinking water will only remain that way if stored correctly. In the UK water quality standards are some of the best in the world. Water storage tanks are generally constructed from food grade durable polyethylene with smooth inner surfaces that make it more hygienic and easy to clean. There are many different tanks on the market to suit all circumstances; these can either be above or below ground and come in almost any shape you could imagine.

Many people are now opting to add a water filter under their kitchen sink to further improve the quality of their drinking water. There are many different models available with the vast majority working by utilising reverse osmosis. Reverse Osmosis is a process in which dissolved inorganic solids (such as heavy metal, fluoride, bacteria and pesticides) are removed from the water. This is accomplished by household water pressure pushing the tap water through a semipermeable membrane; if your household water pressure is poor electric models are available which will boost the pressure and perform the same function.

Harvesting rainwater is not considered safe to drink in its raw form, however a number of products which have a tiered treatment process including ultra violet (UV) are available to convert rainwater into drinking water.