A little background
In terms of quality, there is no scientific proof that bottled mineral water is any better or safer than tap water and so, for most people, the reason for drinking bottled water is simply a matter of taste, which is fair enough, but filtered tap water tastes just as good as any bottled water and also cuts down on both monetary expense and plastic pollution of our natural environment.
In the early days of tourism in Spain, which really only got going in the late 1960s, the country’s tap water had a pretty poor reputation with foreign visitors. In the immediate decades following the Spanish Civil War and WWII, there was precious little investment in the country’s infrastructure, including the water supply system.
As a result, the taste of tap water wasn’t the best, leading tourists to perceive it as possibly unsafe, so they mainly opted for bottled mineral water. Many Spaniards, especially in tourist areas, started following suit and also opting for the bottled stuff.
The EU comes to the rescue
Things changed when Spain joined the European Union in 1986, along with Portugal, as between that year and 2008, Spain received €21 billion in E.U. funding to improve and develop its water supply infrastructure. Today, Spain has some of the most advanced public water filtration and wastewater management solutions in the world. Although Spanish water has higher-than-average levels of Trihalomethanes (THMs) than many other countries, the modern water supply system ensures that by the time it reaches your tap, it is perfectly safe to drink.
Spanish tap water is considered to be 99.5% safe to drink and complies with international water quality standards, although there may still be localised issues with the taste caused by sediments, minerals, local pipe contaminants, or the chlorine that is added to kill off any pathogens, viruses and bacteria that can cause disease.
Bottled Water
Ironically, one huge contributor to microplastic pollution is bottled water. Back in the day, when people began to drink bottled water, those bottles were typically made of glass. Now, glass has been replaced by cheaper plastic, with literally billions of plastic mineral water bottles consumed each year. With only about 30% of plastic bottles currently recycled, and only 20% made from recycled plastic, the stats are not good at all. The amount of plastic entering our oceans and landfills, and eventually our natural drinking water supply, is increasingly concerning.
Water Filters
Maybe you really want to be kind to the environment but hate the taste of chlorine? While many people hardly even notice the chlorine, others can’t stand it. Thankfully, there is a solution at hand: water filters. If you drink bottled water primarily for the taste, decent water filters will remove that chlorine flavour and, at the same time, make your water as safe as possible by reducing substances such as chlorine taste, lead, pesticides, and other potential contaminants that may be hiding in there.
Water filters also have the added advantage of potentially saving an average household hundreds of euros per year in the long run compared to buying bottled water – and, of course, they will help reduce the amount of plastic waste you produce.
If you prefer filtered water for taste or environmental reasons, there are many household filtration solutions available locally.
Costa Brava Tap Water
Apart from taste, the water here on the Costa Brava, and along the coast of Catalunya in general, with its location right on the Mediterranean, is quite ‘hard’. The ‘hardness’ of water refers to the levels of mineralisation and an excess of calcium, or lime, in your H2O, and we don’t mean the kind of lime you use to make mojitos!
This is due to the superabundance of calcium and magnesium, the elements that cause limescale in household appliances and showers. You’ll probably have noticed it already, or maybe you’ve already had to use a limescale remover, probably on more than one occasion if you live on La Costa Brava.
A water filter or softener will take care of that for you and put an end to your spending on anti-cal products and all that bottled drinking water. Filtered ‘soft’ water requires less laundry detergent, leaves your clothes cleaner, and makes your hair feel softer and cleaner after a shower while using less shampoo. You’ll also be doing your washing machine, dishwasher, tap and shower fittings a big favour!