Drinking tap water
60% of human body consists of water, which is distributed among its organs: muscles, cells, tissues and blood, etc… For this reason, it is very important to drink water regularly during the day.
Said that, we have many kinds of water. Bottled waters or drinkable waters from the water main.
Italy is the first country in the world for the consumption of mineral bottled water. In fact, the average consumption per person a year is 192 liters. This is not only expensive, but it has also a strong environmental impact.
Mineral bottled water has different consequences on our environment: water-resources finishing, use of PET bottles only which means tons of polluting material. In addition to this, use of oil and the increase of air pollution due to the need to transport these bottles by road.
In fact, if we think of all the kilometers that bottles have to run to reach our tables, in addition to the fact that storage conditions are not always the most suitable ones (water should be kept in a chilled room, and far from sun's rays), it is clear that also the quality of the water we drink could be damaged.
Even if we tend to think that the quality of tap water is inferior compared to mineral bottled water, actually the controls on drinkable waters for human use are ruled by very strict norms (legislative decree 152/2006 and 31/2001).
Controls are carried out regularly and not only by the manager of the water main but also by the respective AUSL (Regional Sanitary Service). Analysis are carried out at all levels: supply plants, storage plants and distribution networks.
It is also true that waters from the water main have an unpleasant odor and taste like chlorine. However, this does not mean that they are not drinkable or of less quality. To solve the problem, it is enough to install systems of microfiltration or ultrafiltration or the most complete osmosis systems.
Last but not least, also the economic factor has to be taken into consideration. In fact, if for one thousand liters of mineral bottled water with an average cost of 0.25 cent/liter, a family spends around 250 Euro, for the same quantity of water from the water main a family would spend 1.5 euro a liter (data provided by GRUPPO HERA SPA - Emilia Romagna).
Furthermore, other aspects have to be taken into consideration, like “supplying yourself with a good quantity" of water at the grocery, the inconvenience due to the transportation of packs of water which are heavy and bulky, finally the storage in a cellar or a terrace with all the above mentioned limitations.
We have also to consider that, once used, bottles have to be disposed.
The cost of the system and of the following maintenance are widely paid back by a better quality of the water, by the ease to draw the water needed directly from a dedicated tub and, finally, by the fact that thanks to these systems we contribute to the reduction of pollution due to the production, transportation and disposal of plastic bottles.