Tap water good for ecosystems and health, say scientists

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Findings from research carried out in Barcelona, Spain, show that “the sustainability gain from consuming water from public supply exceeds human health gain from consuming bottled water."

The researchers say their findings support the argument that bottled water consumption should be reduced where the public supply is safe to drink.

The higher environmental impact of bottled water is down to the high input of packaging materials and energy needed in its production, as compared to tap water. A new EU drinking water directive introduced in 2020 aims to reduce plastic bottle consumption by increasing confidence in and access to tap water.

The researchers said, “Bottled water production showed the highest environmental impacts, from 500 to 50,000 times higher than tap water depending on the water supply area and impact categories.”

“Bottled water production showed the highest environmental impacts, from 500 to 50,000 times higher than tap water depending on the water supply area and impact categories.”

Researchers - Cristina Villanueva, Marianna Garfí, Carles Milà, Sergio Olmos, Cathryn Tonne

The multi-partner collaborative project included researchers from Barcelona Institute for Global Health and CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP) in Madrid. They identified a variety of reasons people choose to consume bottled water, including perceptions of poor tap water quality and presence of water chemicals. Other factors are external information, past health problems, and levels of trust in public suppliers.

By integrating health impact and life-cycle data in a model, for the first time, the researchers found that meeting drinking water needs for the city of Barcelona with bottled water would result in a high level of ecosystem damage compared to tap water. In a scenario where the whole population of Barcelona consumed tap water, the lowest impact on ecosystems, resources and health was identified.