Raise your glass to tap water

WHAT would our grandmothers say if they ever saw us paying for bottles of water?

Water was always supposed to be ‘free’ in this country, but we’re now consuming an average of 45 litres of the bottled stuff per head annually, with sales touching €300m.

The debate concerning tap water versus bottled water continues, notably in America where bottled water is now the second most popular beverage after soft drinks. Many experts, however, are convinced that properly treated tap water is just as good and as healthy as the commercial variety.

I’ve always preferred tap water, with no obvious ill-effects after a lifetime of consumption. It’s hard to understand how a country like ours which has an abundance of good tap water — certified by the EPA and local authorities as safe to drink — has taken to the alternative like the proverbial duck…pardon the pun. And much of that water is imported. Clever advertising telling us that the water comes from pristine, natural sources even makes it trendy to go around with a bottle, which costs a multiple of that flowing from the tap.

There are other reasons for the popularity of bottled water. Firstly, there’s the convenience of buying a bottle and taking it away with you. Other factors could be a poor taste from tap water, which may also have too much fluoride, and a fear of pollution in rivers and lakes, main sources of our drinking water.

Councils could also be doing more to reassure people that their water is safe. People must have confidence in the water, but this is not helped by the fact that only half of drinking water authorities are publishing information on water quality, as they are obliged to do by the Department of the Environment.

There’s also a significant global environmental issue here — how to dispose of 50 billion plastic bottles each year. Studies in the US show that only 20% of plastic bottles are recycled, though the recycling rate is probably much better here.

In the latest issue of Sherkin Comment, editor Matt Murphy accepts the need for bottled water, especially when public supplies get contaminated, but he also says it’s “ludicrous” to be paying for bottled water when clean tap water is freely available. “Even when water charges are introduced the difference in price will still be enormous,” the veteran environmentalist points out. What Matt says makes sense and I will be remaining loyal to tap water until there’s good reason to do otherwise.