How Good is UK Drinking Water?

We hear all the time about the importance of staying hydrated and making sure we drink enough water – but just how good is UK drinking water?

Well the good news is that UK water is subject to some of the strictest safety checks in the world, ensuring that our tap water is amongst the safest in the world – UK water is tested and treated daily, ensuring an incredibly high safety rating.

If it’s so safe, why do we need filters on our coolers/boilers?

It’s a good question – and the answer is largely to do with limescale! UK water is sourced from a variety of places including lakes, underground sources and reservoirs – this means the water picks up lots of beneficial minerals – but it also picks up limescale which is not harmful to people but can affect the taste of the water and  is a nightmare for kettles/coolers/boilers etc where a build up of scale occurs, potentially harming the insides of your appliances, and causing blockages and other issues – this is a particular issue in our own region, the South East, where chalky/limestone downlands mean hard water, full of minerals, but also full of limescale!

So, how does the UK ensure the safety of the drinking water?

UK water undergoes a variety of processes to ensure it is as safe as possible for consumption.

These processes include:

Filtration –  Filtration, activated carbon treatment, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and membrane filtration to remove pesticides and other synthetic chemicals, phosphorous, nitrates, medicines and organic chemicals,

Screening, pre-treatment oxidation, clarification, filtration and UV disinfection and chlorination – a low (and very safe) level of chlorine in the water, alongside all these other processes, ensures we have no nasty viruses, bacteria or other pathogens contaminating our water supply. If you store water in the fridge you are advised to change it every 24 hours as the low levels of chlorine man lose effectiveness after that time.

Uk water treatment plants perform all these tests and treatments as well as controlling the temperature and PH levels, to ensure the water that comes to our houses is as safe and healthy as they can get it.

Aqualeader change/install filters at service visits – if you would like us to visit to service your cooler/boiler and replace or add a filter (Please note, bottled coolers do not require filters) visit our servicing page HERE