Water is essential, but there are significant differences in water quality when comparing different countries. For example, in many Asian countries, tap water is not safe. In Europe, water quality is often much better, but it often contains large amounts of chlorine and other harmful substances. One country known for its clean tap water is the Netherlands. But how clean is Dutch drinking water really? How is the water purified, and is it sufficient?
Facts and figures
The average water consumption per person in the Netherlands is 134 litres per day, which is equivalent to thirteen buckets! The majority of this drinking water is obtained from groundwater. About a third is surface water from rivers, and one percent is rainwater. This extracted water is not immediately ready to drink. Only after a whole process of softening and purification we can call it drinking water.
Water purification
Dutch drinking water is purified through several steps. First, the water is obtained from the above-mentioned sources. Then, the coarser dirt is removed from the water by adding iron chloride. This substance causes the larger particles to aggregate, making it easier to remove harmful substances from the water. After this "pre-treatment," the water is filtered with sand and gravel. Then, the water flows through a large cellar where ozone is added. This substance breaks down any remaining harmful substances. Finally, the lime is removed from the water, and the water is filtered with carbon. This process takes about three months. After that, the water is safe to drink.
Tap water not as clean as you think
It may seem very obvious that you can just drink a glass of water straight from the tap. However, there is a whole process involved. When you compare the Netherlands to other countries, they have relatively clean drinking water. Nevertheless, this does not mean that Dutch tap water is entirely free of bacteria and/or unnatural, harmful substances. In fact, it contains more harmful substances than you might think, such as lead, chlorine, and lime. Additionally, Dutch water is increasingly contaminated with medicine residues. This is not immediately dangerous, but it does pollute the drinking water. In the long term, this pollution may have consequences for the vitality of the body and may lead to health issues. Dutch drinking water is known to be one of the best in the world. This raises the question of the quality of drinking water in other European countries.
Making sure you have clean drinking water
Clean drinking water is essential for everyone, especially if you care about taking care of your body. Tap water has been approved by government agencies and deemed safe to drink. However, it can still be made even safer, for example, with an AquaTru water filter. This filters out all harmful substances from tap water, allowing you to enjoy clean and delicious drinking water without worrying about harmful substances.
