Is spring water healthier than tap water?

Q: Is spring water the same as tap water?

In many cases, yes. Much tap water is extracted from the ground and is therefore, strictly speaking, also spring water. For example, the tap water in Utrecht is drawn from the same source as the spring water from Bar-le-Duc and Sourcy (Quest, July 2016). So is spring water healthier than tap water? Not in the Netherlands. Abroad, of course, it’s a completely different story. That has to do with water quality.

In the Netherlands, tap water is of excellent quality from a health perspective. In fact, our tap water is subject to much stricter quality standards than bottled spring water.

Bottled mineral or spring water therefore does not always meet drinking water standards. Our drinking water is tested for 65 substances in accordance with statutory requirements. The quality requirements for bottled water are set out in the Packaged Waters Decree under the Commodities Act. This decree specifies the maximum or minimum permissible levels for only 15 of these substances.

Is spring water healthier than tap water?

What are the disadvantages of spring water?

Spring water comes in a handy bottle, but are there any downsides to spring waters such as Spa Blaauw? We’ve listed them below.

Tap water costs a fraction of the price of spring water. Tap water costs around 0.1 cents per litre. Spring water is therefore at least 500 times more expensive than tap water.

Furthermore, spring water varies greatly in composition, so you can never claim that it is healthier – after all, what exactly is ‘healthy’? For example: Spa Rood 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 per day. Given that we drink an average of about one and a half litres of water a day, if you were to drink only Vichy, you’d already be close to the maximum. How is that healthy?

Is spring water the same as tap water?

In many cases, yes. Much tap water is drawn from the ground and is therefore, strictly speaking, also spring water. For example, the tap water in Utrecht is drawn by Vitens from the same source as the spring water from Bar-le-Duc and Sourcy (Quest, July 2016).

So is spring water healthier than tap water? Not in the Netherlands. Abroad, of course, it’s a completely different story. That has to do with water quality.