All Articles
2012 Articles
- An Improving Environmental Footprint for the Bottled Water Industry
- Strong Performance for UK Bottled Water in 2011
- Venezuela’s President Announces Price Caps on Bottled Water
- Polyethylene terephthalate
- Marathon Rehydration
- Taking Water into the Exam Hall Improves Grades
- Two Thirds of French Children Dehydrated when they get to School
- Marvellous Minerals
- Defining Water: Minerals vs Hydration
- International World Water Day 2012
- Water Quality – The Issue of our Age
- BWCA Golf Day, Conference and Trade Show 2012
- Bottled Water Sales Banned at the Grand Canyon
- New Study into Perceptions amongst Health Professionals of Hydration and its Importance
- New Year’s Greetings
- Smart Water
- Classy Water
- Olympics a Welcome boost to Bottled Water Industry in 2012
- Water Cooler Cannon
- Dehydration in the Elderly
- 60% of Europe’s Spring Water is Found in Romania
- How safe is it to Refill your Plastic Water Bottle? Pt 1 – Bacterial Concerns
- How safe is it to Refill your Plastic Water Bottle? Pt 2 – Chemical Concerns
- The Water Cycle
- Algae
- How Filters Work Pt 1 - Granular Activated Carbon Filtration
- How Filters Work – Pt 2 – Ultraviolet Treatment and Ion Exchange
- How Filters Work. Pt 3 - Microporous Filtration and Reverse Osmosis
2011 Articles
- World Health Organisation Drinking Water Guidelines
- European Commision Drinking Water Directive
- And Finally for Today
- Water Cooler Test for Giant Octopus
- Yate Water Cooler Company Welcomes Local MP in Bid For the UK to Stay Cooler!
- Where’s Cooler? – British Water Cooler Association Competition Aims to Raise Public Awareness
- Introducing the Everest Office Water Cooler
- A Call to Improve Kerbside Plastic Bottle Collection
- The Flavia Creation 400 Brewer – Bringing Café Culture into the Office
- Why it's so important to keep our children hydrated?
- Why Do Ice Cubes Float in Water
- Keep It Light
- Plumbed In Vs Bottled Water coolers (Part 1: Cost and Convenience)
- Plumbed In Vs Bottled Water Coolers (Part 2: Water Quality and Environmental Impact)
- FoodBev.com Awards 2011
- Swindon Named Most ‘Water Conscious’ Town in the UK by Thames Water
- Drinking Water Helps Prevent Diabetes
- Bottled Water Industry denies EFSA hydration claims will affect them
- Top Tips for A Hygienic Water cooler – Pt 1
- Top Tips for A Hygienic Water Cooler – Pt 2
- BWCA Recruits ‘Hydration Heroes’ as part of its Stay Cooler Campaign
- What’s Coming Out of Your Tap
- Water Coolers for the Education System - Free Trial On Water Coolers To Keep Your Pupils Healthy
- Curing the New Year's Party Hangover Pt 1 – Water the Ultimate Elixir
- What’s the Difference Between Spring Water and Mineral Water
2010 Articles
- Pow wow administration
- The official Powwow Rescue Package
- Office Watercoolers are now live on Twitter
- Scientists Create Dry Water!
- Water is Weird!
- Autumn Promotion
- Essential Care of Your Water Cooler
- Essential Care of a Plumbed-in Water Cooler
- How to Choose a Water Cooler Supplier
- How to Choose a Water Cooler
- Fancy a Coffee?
- What are the Different Types of Water
- Why Choose a Member of the British Water Cooler Association
- Our Staff Are Now Criminal Record Bureau Checked
- Office Water Coolers and the Save A Cup Scheme
- Office Water Coolers Waste Policy
- Water Coolers in Schools Evaluation
- The Office Group Expands its Product Range
- Office Water Coolers and the AWS Group
- Drinking Water and Perpetual Youth!
- Bottled Water Vs Tap Water
- How Does a Water Cooler Work?
- How Much Does a Water Cooler Cost
- Water and the Environment - The Industry Speaks
- Getting a Water Cooler is Easy
- Customer Testimonials Mars Flavia
- Water Coolers and Purification
- Do Bottled Water, and Water Coolers, Contribute to Global Warming?
- Bottled vs Plumbed-in Water Coolers - Carbon Footprint Compared
- Which Water Cooler is Best to Install - Bottled or Plumbed-in (POU)?
- Get a Free Flavia Coffee Machine!
- Bottled Water vs Tap Water - Carbon Footprint Compared
- Does the bottled water cooler industry recycle its water bottles?
- Website Improvements
- Case Study: Beverage Service Station
- Introducing the Coolcask
- Introducing the Elite Water Cooler
- Introducing the Blizzard Fountain
- The Supreme Stylish Water Cooler
- Low Cost Water Coolers
- Environmental and sustainable hot and cold beverage supply
- Dealing With Algae in Your Water Cooler
- Hydration and Health
- What is the Drinking Water Inspectorate?
2008 Articles
- Well Being Checks, On The Spot
- Campaign for hydrated meetings!
- Water Helps Prevent Cancer
- Workplace wellbeing: a water-based solution?
- Health and Hydration in the work place
- Office Health, Hydration And Now Hot Drinks
- Environmental Initiative 2009
- Office Watercoolers Carbon Offset Program
- The Dangers of Working Up a Sweat
What’s Coming Out of Your Tap
27/02/2012 By Peter Brooks
Tap water in the UK is amongst the safest in the world and is monitored continually by the water companies that supply it to your home or business. Despite this though the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) still allow for traces of certain tiny concentrations of certain substances to be present.
So Office Water Coolers thought they'd do a little research on your behalf to let you know exactly what is coming out of your tap.
Chlorine
It could be said that water starts it’s journey in the clouds before falling as rain water but for arguments sake, let’s say that water starts its journey to your tap in a treatment works. It is here that it must be disinfected so it is safe to drink. Chlorine is an effective killer of harmful bacteria and contaminants and is used in this process. When the water leaves the treatment works however, traces of chlorine are left in the water to keep it clean as it passes through the mains network. Many people complain about the taste and smell of chlorine in their water supply which can often be stronger the closer you live to the treatment works.
Fluoride
In 2003 the All Party Parliamentary Group on Primary Care and Public Health recommended that fluoridation be introduced "as a legitimate and effective means of tackling dental health inequalities". Around 10% of the UK receives fluoridated water. Although many health professionals champion the fluoridation of the water supply, many people dislike it and most water companies do not implement it. The following UK water utility companies fluoridate their supply:
· Anglian Water Services Ltd
· Northumbrian Water Ltd
· South Staffordshire Water plc
· Severn Trent plc
· United Utilities Water plc
Lead
Installation of lead plumbing and use of lead solders in the UK has long been prohibited by Water Fittings Regulations but traces of this poisonous metal can still be found in water supplies that are connected to more antiquated plumbing systems, usually in old houses. The UK water quality standard for lead, which is based on the European Union standard, is currently set at 25µg/l (parts per billion). This will be reduced to 10µg/l in 2013 in line with the World Health Organisation's stated guidelines.
Metals
Trace elements of iron, aluminium and manganese can all be found in mains water but all are generally harmless. The standards stipulating their acceptable concentrations (200µg/l for aluminium, 200µg/l for iron and 50µg/l for manganese) is mainly to do with water colouration and staining rather than any potential affect to your health.
Pesticides
These can include insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and algicides and are present in the environment as a result of industry and agriculture. Whilst the UK government constantly monitors drinking water for traces of pesticides, it does allow their presence in the water supply albeit at an extremely low level which cannot feasibly affect health (between 0.1 µg/l and 0.03 µg/l for any individual pesticide).
Nitrate
Nitrates (NO 3) can be natural to the environment but are often caused by fertilisers whereby it is taken up by rainwater and seeps down into the groundwater. The standard for nitrate concentration is 50 mg/l (part per million) with cases over 100mg/l thought to be a contributing factor in cases of methaemoglobinaemia (blue baby syndrome) although there is now considerable scientific doubt over this. Some water utility companies mix water with high nitrate contents with low nitrate content water, thus diluting it to conform to UK standards.
At Office Water Coolers we appreciate that traces of some of the substances above is inevitable (such as leftover chlorine from the disinfection process) but we know all to well the desire for odour-free, clean, purified water delivered straight to your glass. All our POU water coolers are fitted with built-in-filters which remove unwanted tastes and contaminants.
© 2012 Office Water Coolers
Recent Articles
An Improving Environmental Footprint for the Bottled Water Industry
Consider this; recycling a single large plastic bottle (made
from PET) conserves enough energy to light a 60 watt bulb for 6 hours. The National
Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) reported that in 2010 1.5
billion pounds of PET was recycled in America.
Recycled PET (rPET) can be made into all sorts of things like car parts,
playground equipment, carpet or even clothing.
Now consider this; in America (and I daresay the figures are
not that dissimilar in the UK) plastic bottles ...
read more
Strong Performance for UK Bottled Water in 2011
Good news for the bottled water industry as it reports a 2.8%
increase in sales in 2011 (1.8 billion litres). As an industry that employs two
thousand people it is good news in these economically trying times as the UK officially
enters a double dip recession. So with unemployment remaining high and when
people are cutting back on so much, saving their pennies, why does the bottled
water industry grow when compared to 2010.
Well it seems there are a lot of other factors at play.
UK households ...
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Venezuela’s President Announces Price Caps on Bottled Water
Flamboyant Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, has started
announcing more price caps as part of his government’s Law of Fair Prices,
passed back in November 2011. The law was designed to limit what is seen as
excessive profiteering on 19 household goods and groceries but is now being
expanded as the government announce new prices for different products and it is
starting with bottled water and deodorant.
The books of over 16,000 companies have been examined by
the Venezuelan government so far ...
read more
Polyethylene terephthalate
What is polyethylene terephthalate? Well chances are you’ve
encountered it already today if you’ve swigged from a bottle of water or any of
a whole range of bottled drinks. Abbreviated to PET, polyethylene terephthalate
is probably most associated with the packaging for plastic bottles due to its
properties as an excellent and durable barrier material. The thermoplastic
polymer is part of the polyester family and can exist in both amorphous
(transparent) and as a semicrystalline polymer which ...
read more
