How Britain fell out of love with tap water

Who would have thought something as innocuous as water could become so controversial? Confess to being a bottled water drinker who wouldn’t dare consume the stuff coming from our taps, and someone will scoff at you for being a selfish, plastic-wasting maniac. More recently, though, declaring yourself as a drinker of unfiltered tap water won’t exactly leave you free from judgement, either. Many of us are falling out of love with tap water altogether – and arguing it is neither clean – nor tastes very good.

I’ve been on both sides of the debate. One of my friends, who prefers bottled water, regularly receives a scolding from me about how much single-use plastic he gets through. I could never quite grasp why he spends his money on a dozen litre bottles of water each week when our tap water here in the UK is perfectly drinkable.

But earlier this year – and I’m ashamed to admit this – I started to feel the pull of bottled water. It was down to a combination of factors, really. I started to dislike the taste of the water where I live in London. It was metallic, dull and unrefreshing. In May, my aversion to tap water was only heightened by news of the dirty water scandal, which saw hundreds of households in Devon have their water contaminated with animal faeces. I couldn’t seem to forget these unpleasant events when I stared down the barrel of a glass of tap water. So, for a few weeks, I found myself substituting my tap water for litre bottles of Evian. It became a habit too expensive – and too guilt-inducing – to continue. Plus, who has the strength to carry six litres of water back home from Tesco every Sunday?

I may have quelled my short-lived bottled water phase, but I’d wager that my experience isn’t an anomaly. Many friends have told me how they’ve also been put off tap water due to concerns about what’s actually in it. And the industry is readying itself for huge profits. According to a 2023 report by the consultancy Retail Economics, big water brands are predicted to chalk up growth of more than 10 per cent over the next four years; equivalent to the consumption of an extra 280 million bottles per year. In 2021 alone, Britons purchased 3.5 billion bottles, equivalent to 10 million a day.

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As a country, we have long been proud of our tap water drinking culture. But, looking at recent events, it’s not hard to see why people are losing faith in their local water providers. In April, Ofwat and consumer watchdog CCW conducted a survey to find that only 23 per cent of respondents trust their water provider to do what is right for the environment, while satisfaction with the quality of water has dropped by 7 per cent since 2021. That hasn’t been helped by the aforementioned events in Brixham, Devon, when more than 50 people fell ill after drinking water contaminated with a tiny parasite that causes the intestinal disease cryptosporidiosis.

Other studies have cast doubt over the quality of our water more widely. Earlier this year, water purification firm Bluewater found that water supplies in three areas of London were contaminated with harmful “forever” PFA chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), which have been linked to a wide range of ailments, including cancer, liver damage, reduced fertility and birth defects, according to multiple studies. Seeing this, it’s no wonder that a knee-jerk reaction might be to stockpile bottled mineral water.

Still, though, these findings haven’t taken away from the UK’s reputation for being among the countries with the best quality of tap water in the world. A representative for Water UK, the trade association for the water industry, tells me that consumers should have “complete confidence” in the quality of our water. “Tap water in the UK is among the best in the world and is great value for money – hundreds of times cheaper than bottled water,” they said. “Drinking water is subject to stringent testing to ensure it’s safe and wholesome to drink, meaning consumers can have complete confidence in its quality.” There’s even more to be assured about: our water is continually tested, which is why the water contamination in Devon was spotted early. In fact, 4 million tests are carried out on our water each year, with more than 99.7 per cent of samples meeting “strict” government testing compliance standards. Really, we should still be chuffed with our tap water. And besides, if you still don’t trust it, you can use a filter.

By contrast, there’s not much to gloat about when it comes to drinking bottled water. It isn’t cheap – I’ve paid nearly £3 for a bottle at WH Smith before – and it’s an extra expense in the weekly food shop. Then there’s the environmental impact: more than 700,000 plastic bottles are discarded as litter every day in the UK, with many going to landfill or finding their way into our seas and rivers, according to the anti-disposables campaign Refill. If we don’t recycle them, then plastic bottles, which break down into small particles, can take 500 years to decompose in landfill. In that time, those particles will turn into microplastics, which can damage the environment, pollute oceans, harm animals, and even enter the human body. Microplastics have been linked to health problems such as endocrine disruption and cancer, and have also been found in placentas. And, let’s not forget that waste from single-use plastics is one of the main culprits of the worldwide plastic pollution crisis.

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We shouldn’t let a few blips in the water quality make us forget the strides we’ve made towards more sustainable water consumption habits. In recent years, for example, carrying a refillable water bottle has become the norm. In 2015, just 20 per cent of people in the UK used one, but that figure is now closer to 60 per cent, according to Refill. Plus, more local authorities and councils have introduced public refill stations in areas across the UK – last year, London mayor Sadiq Khan introduced 110 new water fountains across the city. That readiness to curb plastic waste is also reflected in the popularity of trendy water bottle brands like Chilly’s, Air Up and Stanley cups. In some ways, refill culture has meant that carrying a refillable water bottle has become a marker of a person’s environmental choices. And it’s definitely something to be proud of.

Our pride in our tap water has been tested this year. And rightly so – it’s not settling to hear of our waterways being contaminated. We may have lost some tap water enthusiasts to bottled water in the process, but there’s no denying that we’re lucky to have access to such a high quality of drinking water here in the UK. And I’ve come to realise that if the UK is among the top 10 countries with the best water quality in the world, then it’s good enough for me.

Sincerely, a reformed bottled-water drinker.