To Tap, or not to Tap?

Nowadays, the term purified water is very common among us. We perceive “purified water” as something pure, clean, and healthy, and that is true enough. Many people rely on this for their drinking water. Tap water, on the other hand, gathers the adjectives dirty, unsafe, full of pathogens, unhealthy, etc. We then start to wonder, what happened to the once source of drinking water for the people?

In the past, all of our water came from the tap. These were used for washing, cleaning, and yes, drinking. Back then, water companies maintain these waters well, and made sure that what we get in our homes was safe enough to be drunk. However, as our economy went down the hill, and the population grew larger, water companies cannot cope up with the growing demands of cleaner and safer water that could suffice all of the people, and so starts the declination of the quality of tap water.

Also, illegal connection of tubes from some communities of people further complicates the problem, as bacteria and other harmful pathogens could easily penetrate leaking tubes from these hastily and poorly-attached connections. Rust could also develop easily on these low-quality tubes utilized by the offenders, and so waters passing through these connections could be discolored by the rust.

However, as opposed to the fears of the population, studies and experiments done by the Metro Manila Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Committee as of 2007 [1] showed that the tap water is generally clean and safe to drink from. According to the MWSS-Regulatory Office, tests made showed that the water source and supplies of the cities contained no traces of bacteria that caused water-borne illnesses.

Purified water, on the other hand, is the most popular choice among the people in our society. To many, as I have said a while ago, this is safe, pure, clean, etc, and so many people are attracted to patronizing them. I’m not saying that this is wrong, but let me share you some facts. An independent study done in some developed country shows that 50% of the bottled waters there, which claim they are purified, are actually bottled tap waters. What are the chances that the same fact doesn’t exist in the Philippines?

Also, true purified water is water that has gone through extensive purifying stages, meaning the water is purified up to the extent that they are simply water – pure water. When we drink water, what we get is the nourishment that our body needs not just against dehydration, but nourishment that minerals in those waters could provide us. When we purify water, some of these minerals and ions, like calcium, are naturally lost from the process, and so, as the purifying stages get longer, the fewer minerals we get from the water. These minerals and ions are usually found in potable water, which could be a tap water, etc.

Choosing from these two may sound fruitless, but actually it is not. Your small acts like this will make a difference, because both have pros and cons which you could affect you, and because this will determine whether you get the best out of the water you get, or not. The choice is still up to you, if you are “to tap, or not to tap?”

[1] Tap water safe to drink