Why Drink Tap Water: The Benefits

Drinking tap water is an excellent choice, and not just because it saves money or for general "green" reasons. In fact, it's safe and strictly controlled; it's more convenient (you don't have to buy and carry it), always on hand; and it radically reduces plastic consumption. The incredible thing is that, despite this evident and certified sum of benefits, only 29–30% of Italians habitually (or regularly) drinks tap water as the primary choice (the data is reported by White Paper "Water Value for Italy" (by The European House Ambrosetti). And Italians themselves are the first consumers in Europe, and second in the world, of mineral water stored in plastic bottles.

Index of topics

Safety

Four out of four Italians don't trust their municipality's mineral water. An incredible fact, a snapshot of ignorance motivated only by relentless and persistent campaigns against tap water. These campaigns are also supported by chefs considered gurus of the kitchen, that is, of Nothing, like Mr. Gianfranco Vissani, leader of the patrol of imaginative preachers called Chef on TV, and protagonist of a real campaign against tap water.

Thus, people distrust public water, harboring a thousand doubts about its wholesomeness, and prefer bottled water, considered more controlled and safe. Tap water, on the other hand, is guaranteed by law for its quality, is safe to drink, and has been found by numerous studies to be often superior to bottled water. Furthermore, according to several consumers, tap water is treated, while bottled water is pure because it is drawn from the source. In reality, bottled water also undergoes specific treatments, while tap water is drawn from groundwater. Mains water is regularly tested by local health authority (ASL) analysis laboratories, which ensure its potability on a daily basis. Furthermore, the tests to which "the mayor's water" is subjected are very strict regarding the presence of certain substances that must be avoided, such as manganese, a hard metal essential for human survival but harmful in high concentrations, and arsenic.

Quality

Every mineral water boasts its qualities, and sometimes claims miracles for the properties it promises. Again, this often goes unpunished. Tap water, on the other hand, in Italy requires no advertising or marketing to highlight its qualities: European and world statistics, certified on a scientific level, say so. And don't get stamped by the star chef on duty. Italian tap water, thanks to its enormous qualities, is not only extremely safe, but also the best in Europe, after Austria, Sweden, Ireland, and Hungary.

Mineral salts and zero arsenic

Tap water in Italy is very valuable from a nutritional point of view as it is rich in mineral salts, in particular Potassium, Calcium e MagnesiumMinerals are essential to human life, and water is a necessary source of supply to continuously replenish the body's minerals. In addition to the presence of life-sustaining elements, potability parameters also include seriously harmful elements such as arsenic, a naturally occurring chemical capable of causing serious diseases, such as cancer. The European Union has established a reduction in the maximum limit for arsenic concentration in water, which goes from 20 to 10 micrograms per litre.Above this threshold, water becomes undrinkable. It must be said that the arsenic present in mains water is organic, meaning it is easily expelled from the human body because it is water-soluble. However, some bottled mineral waters have been found to contain inorganic arsenic, the most toxic form of arsenic, harmful to humans. Italian law requires bottled water to undergo strict controls to ensure its purity and the total absence of arsenic. In short, tap water, as is easy to understand, is far safer, even from this perspective.

The savings

Drinking tap water allows for considerable savings on the household budget, since you don't have to buy the plastic bottles At the supermarket. Furthermore, the cost of tap water is much lower than bottled water. Considering that most bottled water is sold at a significant markup compared to the actual price, drinking tap water can be a convenient choice. To get a precise idea of the savings, let's take the example of an average family that consumes about 12 1.5-liter bottles of water each week: the gain, in terms of reduced spending and considering the cost of the water bill, is approximately €315 per year (which increases to €500 for a larger family). For the community, however, there are 17,5 fewer kilos of plastic to produce and dispose of and 8 fewer kilos of fuel for transportation. Furthermore, drinking fountain water frees up space in the home, which would otherwise be occupied by large crates of plastic. plastic containersWhen you get used to drinking tap water, you also save on the cost of transporting crates of mineral water from the store to your home.

Sustainability

In Italy, approximately 206 liters of bottled water are consumed per capita. Approximately eight billion plastic bottles are produced each year. It goes without saying that these numbers represent a serious threat to our ecosystem. Choosing to drink tap water, therefore, helps reduce the environmental impact of plastic containers, which require natural resources to produce and can end up in landfills, causing environmental damage. Furthermore, producing plastic bottles also means transporting them from the packaging site to the store, burning fossil fuels along miles of highway. And it's well known that fossil fuels emit greenhouse gases. greenhouse gasesIt becomes clear that drinking fountain water is also good for the health of the planet.

The filtering

Tap water is usually treated with chlorine, which disinfects it, safely eliminating bacteria and viruses. However, chlorine can alter the taste of the water, especially in summer. To avoid this minor inconvenience, which is not harmful to the human body, simply use an activated carbon filter under the kitchen sink. This way, the water will always taste great, free of any unpleasant odors. di chlorine. Furthermore, it will be free of any sediment or strange odors. But there is an even simpler and zero-cost method to eliminate any trace of chlorine flavor: just leave the glass of tap water out in the open for a few seconds, before drinking, to completely evaporate the chlorine.

The freshness

The water coming out of the tap is always fresh, especially if you let it run for a few minutes. Furthermore, there's no risk of it sitting in storage for long periods, perhaps in plastic containers exposed to sunlight. This alters not only the plastic's properties but also the taste of the water itself.

Why it's better to drink tap water