Irish water not Irish Water

filbert the fox · 12-08-2017 10:35am #1

i sit in a well known coffee franchise in the mornings attached to a small busy supermarket.
I've noticed that a lot of customers buy bottled water - even some of the staff.

Now there are plenty of reasons to do this but one thing has come to my attention recently from talking to people who are generally from abroad.

They have something in their heads that the tap water can't be trusted. i even heard recently that a Lithuanian girl living here was boiling all of her drinking water.

The environmental impact of plastic waste is well documented.

We simply don't need to add to it.
There is a simple solution to this .

It's called information.

The water we consume has been through many treatment processes to get it to our taps. You can trust it.

mickdw · 12-08-2017 10:42am

filbert the fox wrote: »

i sit in a well known coffee franchise in the mornings attached to a small busy supermarket.
I've noticed that a lot of customers buy bottled water - even some of the staff.

Now there are plenty of reasons to do this but one thing has come to my attention recently from talking to people who are generally from abroad.

They have something in their heads that the tap water can't be trusted. i even heard recently that a Lithuanian girl living here was boiling all of her drinking water.

The environmental impact of plastic waste is well documented.

We simply don't need to add to it.
There is a simple solution to this .

It's called information.

The water we consume has been through many treatment processes to get it to our taps. You can trust it.

It is lunacy to buy bottled water.
People happily pay 2 quid for a small bottle yet were out protesting when asked to pay a tiny fee for household water. I'd wager that many of the water protestor spend more needlessly on bottled water yearly than would pay the It's water bill.

Del.Monte · 12-08-2017 1:10pm

I haven't trusted tap water for some years now - but being lazy still use it for coffee and tea. When I have my children with me it's bottled water all the way. All the plastic bottles are a problem but do go to the recycling centre. I'm in a Victorian building and don't trust the ancient piping or the County Council's water treatment facility. Is there a reason why I should?

mickdw · 12-08-2017 5:45pm

Its a number of years since i went to college but i did study all aspects of water and wastewater treatment and distribution. At that time, we were reliably informed that public supply here in ireland was required to meet higher standards than the bottled suppliers.

Del.Monte · 12-08-2017 7:04pm

mickdw wrote: »

Its a number of years since i went to college but i did study all aspects of water and wastewater treatment and distribution. At that time, we were reliably informed that public supply here in ireland was required to meet higher standards than the bottled suppliers.

I'm afraid 'reliably informed' doesn't cut it with me. The country's coming down with experts, regulators etc. and look where we are today.

mickdw · 12-08-2017 7:11pm

Id advise you do your own research.
At the time I could have told you exactly why the public supply was safer but cant remember now.
I have a Civil Engineering degree which as i say specialised in such matters and I have never bought bottled water.
I have visited treatment plants etc and I happily drink the tap water.

august12 · 12-08-2017 7:27pm

Del.Monte wrote:

I haven't trusted tap water for some years now - but being lazy still use it for coffee and tea. When I have my children with me it's bottled water all the way. All the plastic bottles are a problem but do go to the recycling centre. I'm in a Victorian building and don't trust the ancient piping or the County Council's water treatment facility. Is there a reason why I should?

Well the council water is tested regularly under 2014 drinking water regulations, you can access the results in the water.ie website, using their map function. So yes, I would say, you can trust the council water supply, and if you have a concern, you can log a call with Irish Water and the supply coming from your kitchen tap will be tested, so this should re assure you.

Blacktie. · 12-08-2017 7:32pm

Del.Monte wrote:

I haven't trusted tap water for some years now - but being lazy still use it for coffee and tea. When I have my children with me it's bottled water all the way. All the plastic bottles are a problem but do go to the recycling centre. I'm in a Victorian building and don't trust the ancient piping or the County Council's water treatment facility. Is there a reason why I should?

What's not to trust? If there was something wrong we'd have a pretty large scale epidemic pretty quickly.

Del.Monte · 12-08-2017 7:38pm

Blacktie. wrote: »

What's not to trust? If there was something wrong we'd have a pretty large scale epidemic pretty quickly.

From lead pipes?

august12 · 12-08-2017 7:45pm

Are Am Eye wrote:

In the same way that Drogheda is a Dublin suburb. And C arrick Macross. Belfast too. And Reykjavik.

Del.Monte wrote:

From lead pipes?

Well get your water tested if you have a concern about lead, it's quite simple, or keep drinking the water and giving out about it here

Del.Monte · 12-08-2017 7:48pm

august12 wrote: »

Well get your water tested if you have a concern about lead, it's quite simple, or keep drinking the water and giving out about it here

I'm not giving out about it - just replied to the thread - I am past giving out about things in this country because nothing changes. That, of course, is what those in authority want - wear you down and you'll go away. In my case they have largely succeeded.

tedpan · 12-08-2017 7:52pm

I only drink bottled water. The tap water is not good, I wouldn't even use it for tea or coffee. It's difficult to trust many things these days, but why would I trust a government lead company that supplies weird chlorine tasting water?

lawred2 · 12-08-2017 7:55pm

tedpan wrote: »

I only drink bottled water. The tap water is not good, I wouldn't even use it for tea or coffee. It's difficult to trust many things these days, but why would I trust a government lead company that supplies weird chlorine tasting water?

And do you know where bottled water comes from?

tedpan · 12-08-2017 8:04pm

lawred2 wrote:

And do you know where bottled water comes from?

Supposedly from the spring's source as advertised. I'm guessing you know.

Skatedude · 12-08-2017 8:11pm

But I've never seen a boil notice warning for bottled water where you do for tap water such as cork, Kildare, Tipperary and Roscommon, and that's just the ones for the last year. Pretty sure there are more.

lawred2 · 13-08-2017 8:07am

tedpan wrote: »

Supposedly from the spring's source as advertised. I'm guessing you know.

Source can mean anything.

The likes of river rock is nothing but tap water through a filter.

tedpan · 13-08-2017 8:12am

lawred2 wrote:

The likes of river rock is nothing but tap water through a filter.

The likes of river rock? That's not spring water, that's coca cola tap water as everyone knows. The same as ballygowan these days..

I only buy mineral water that's sourced from a spring.

McGiver · 14-08-2017 8:24am

mickdw wrote: »

Its a number of years since i went to college but i did study all aspects of water and wastewater treatment and distribution. At that time, we were reliably informed that public supply here in ireland was required to meet higher standards than the bottled suppliers.

Municipal tap water contains fluoride for starters, separate issue, but in the dosage they pump it in it it's not healthy, so that's an issue. Also, for example here in Galway, the tap water has issues with high THM (trihalomethanes) which are byproduct of water treatment if the water contains lots of organic materials. THMs are carcinogenic. I can see the value in my tap is about 50 and that is too high.
Then you have occasional microbiological contamination but that's usually isolated to small areas.

Now, given all that the most economical and environmentally friendly solution is to buy a decent water filter. The best one:
https://www.berkey-waterfilters.co.uk

Yes, you need to invest, but then you get the cleanest possible water at cost much lower than buying bottled, which has its issues - plastic waste, chemicals leaching from the plastic (real concern), unknown quality of the water, and relatively high costs.

filbert the fox · 14-08-2017 1:53pm

Quick update, a recently arrived work colleague of eastern european extraction doesn't drink the tap water here. When asked why I got an answer which I didn't expect......."I live in Stamullen and it doesn't taste nice". Well that's something else which really should be addressed if we want to discourage unsustainable use of plastic bottles/packaging.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/28/a-million-a-minute-worlds-plastic-bottle-binge-as-dangerous-as-climate-change

EndaHonesty · 14-08-2017 2:00pm

tedpan wrote: »

The likes of river rock? That's not spring water, that's coca cola tap water as everyone knows. The same as ballygowan these days..

I only buy mineral water that's sourced from a spring.

Ballygowan is a "Natural Mineral Water", one of only 2 recognised officially in Ireland.

https://www.fsai.ie/faq/bottled_water.html

The title "Natural Mineral Water" is for real natural water from an actual natural source.

The title "Spring Water" can be simple tap water that's just bottled.

fantastic98 · 11-11-2017 6:07pm

what I'm wondering is how much time passes before Irish water comes out to do a job. like breaking a shared water pipe to give a direct supply.

Ben D Bus · 11-11-2017 7:53pm

mickdw wrote: »

Id advise you do your own research.

Unfortunately what passes for doing ones own research these days usually amounts to reading a couple of blog posts that support the view the reader has already come to.

Water, vaccinations, chemtrails, you name it.

Capt'n Midnight · 14-11-2017 10:24pm

It's quite legal to bottle tap water and sell it.
You just can't call it "natural mineral water" or "Spring Water"
https://www.fsai.ie/faq/bottled_water.html

Perrier was the water brand until 1990 when benzene (as in petrol) was found in some bottles. The recall cost $250m , within 18 months share price had fallen buy a third and Nestle took them over.

Here and in the UK Coca Cola sell "Deep River Rock"
They used to sell "Desani" but screwed up with bromates, an epic fail when consider they were essentially bottling tap water.

IIRC there is a wider variety of tests on tap water than on bottled water.

tedpan · 14-11-2017 10:28pm

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Here and in the UK Coca Cola sell "Deep River Rock" They used to sell "Desani" but screwed up with bromates, an epic fail when consider they were essentially bottling tap water.

Desani and deep River rock are not branded as spring or mineral water though, similar to ballygowan after britvic took them over

filbert the fox · 15-11-2017 10:34am

tedpan wrote: »

Desani and deep River rock are not branded as spring or mineral water though, similar to ballygowan after britvic took them over

This is all terribly interesting for some but the point is that for the hard pressed, two job, eastern european renter, the additional costs of buying bottled water are in most cases unnecessary.

Pass it on.;)

EndaHonesty · 15-11-2017 1:31pm

tedpan wrote: »

Desani and deep River rock are not branded as spring or mineral water though, similar to ballygowan after britvic took them over

Ballygowan is branded and officially certified as Natural Mineral Water.

tedpan · 15-11-2017 1:51pm

EndaHonesty wrote:

Ballygowan is branded and officially certified as Natural Mineral Water.

Check your facts. That was years ago...

It's branded as "Irish Still water"

EndaHonesty · 15-11-2017 1:58pm

tedpan wrote: »

Check your facts. That was years ago...

It's branded as "Irish Still water"

I've checked my facts, you obviously have not checked yours...

Their website;

Ballygowan is a leading Irish natural mineral water brand available in the UK and Ireland, sourced deep underground from the town of Newcastle West, Co. Limerick.

http://www.britvic.com/our-brands/brands-a-z/ballygowan

Food Safety Authority of Ireland website

Q. Are there any Irish natural mineral waters?

Yes. There are two recognised Irish natural mineral waters. To be recognised as a natural mineral water, the water and source must be assessed. In Ireland, the responsible authority for assessing and declaring a water to be a natural mineral water is the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI).

1. Glenpatrick Glenpatrick Spring Powerstown , Clonmel, County Tipperary
2. Ballygowan Ballygowan Newcastle West, Co. Limerick

https://www.fsai.ie/faq/bottled_water.html

Have you some "facts" to contradict these?... :rolleyes:

tedpan · 15-11-2017 2:20pm

EndaHonesty wrote: »

I've checked my facts, you obviously have not checked yours...

Their website;

http://www.britvic.com/our-brands/brands-a-z/ballygowan

Food Safety Authority of Ireland website

https://www.fsai.ie/faq/bottled_water.html

Have you some "facts" to contradict these?... :rolleyes:

Yes, that's the britvic site, probably hasn't been updated...

Read the ballygowan statement below or look at a bottle in a shop..

Ballygowan Brand

Welcome to the Ballygowan website! Ballygowan the Original Bottled Irish Still Water. As Ireland's original water brand, Ballygowan has a proud reputation for quality and innovation with a heritage that extends for over three decades with many award-winning advertising campaigns and partnerships.

https://www.ballygowan.ie/

EndaHonesty · 15-11-2017 2:31pm

tedpan wrote: »

Yes, that's the britvic site, probably hasn't been updated...

Read the ballygowan statement below or look at a bottle in a shop..

Ballygowan Brand

Welcome to the Ballygowan website! Ballygowan the Original Bottled Irish Still Water. As Ireland's original water brand, Ballygowan has a proud reputation for quality and innovation with a heritage that extends for over three decades with many award-winning advertising campaigns and partnerships.

https://www.ballygowan.ie/

Lol your comprehension isn't the best is it? Ballygowan was branded as spring water BEFORE Britvic bought it...

You need to look at the bottles again.

filbert the fox · 15-11-2017 2:36pm

my initial thread was to consider that we did not necessarily need bottled water - not to advertise it...

Irish water not Irish Water

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