Is spring water healthier than tap water?

In the Netherlands, tap water is of excellent quality from a health perspective. Our tap water is even subject to stricter quality standards than bottled spring water: it is tested for 65 substances in accordance with statutory regulations, whereas the quality requirements for bottled water (set out in the Commodities Act Decree on Packaged Waters) cover only 15 substances.

What are the benefits of spring water?

Spring water also has practical advantages, although these are not health benefits:

• Available everywhere: you don’t need to be near a tap, making it ideal when you’re out and about, travelling or in places without a drinking water supply.
• Taste preference: Some people prefer the taste of a particular brand of mineral water, for example because of its mineral content or because it is naturally carbonated.
• Long shelf life: When unopened, a bottle of mineral water has a virtually unlimited shelf life, which makes it handy to keep in reserve.

What are the disadvantages of spring water?

However, there are a number of clear drawbacks:

• Price: Tap water costs around 0.1 cents per litre. Spring water is therefore at least 500 times more expensive.
• Varying composition: Spring water varies greatly from brand to brand, so you can never claim that it is, by definition, healthier. Spa Rood, for example, contains 5 mg of sodium per litre, whilst Vichy Célestin contains 1,172 mg of sodium per litre. For a low-sodium diet, the recommended daily intake is 2,000 mg of sodium. If you drink around one and a half litres of Vichy a day, you’ll almost have reached that limit.
• Environmental impact: Spring water is bottled in plastic bottles and then transported to the shop, whilst tap water comes straight into your home. The production and transport of bottled water therefore require additional raw materials and fuel, whereas tap water simply does not involve such consumption.

What are the benefits of tap water?

Set against these disadvantages of spring water are the advantages of tap water:

• Cheap: virtually free compared to spring water.
• Strict quality control: legally tested for 65 substances, compared with 15 for bottled water.
• Always available: straight from the tap, without having to stock up on anything or carry it anywhere.
• No plastic waste: no bottles to buy, transport or throw away.

What are the disadvantages of tap water?

Tap water also has its limitations:

• Not portable: You can’t just take it with you, unless you put it in a bottle yourself.
• Lime: Depending on where you live, tap water may contain more or less limescale. This does not pose a health risk, but it does affect the taste, limescale build-up in your home and the lifespan of your appliances.
• Taste through your own pipes: the taste of tap water can be affected by the condition of the pipes in your own home, whereas spring water comes straight from the bottle.

Conclusion: is spring water healthier than tap water?

No, in the Netherlands, spring water is no healthier than tap water. Tap water is cheaper, is subject to stricter controls and has a much smaller environmental impact. The only advantage spring water has is convenience: you can take it with you wherever you go, and it isn’t affected by limescale or the condition of your own pipes. So, in the Netherlands, the choice between the two makes no difference to your health, but it does make a difference to your wallet and the environment.