Tap water: why it tastes different depending on your neighborhood

Tap water: why it tastes different depending on your neighborhood

Within the same city, the water that comes out of the tap can taste radically different. It's not a subjective impression: it depends on the source it comes from. In Barcelona, for example, water in the upper part of the city comes from rainwater collection reservoirs, while other neighborhoods receive water from the Besós or Llobregat treatment plants. And in areas closest to the beach, desalination plants are used. When drought forces the Prat desalination plants into service, the water is so unpleasant it's not even fit for cooking.

Water quality varies by source

The key is knowing the origin. Old fountains fed by springs or underground aquifers offer water very different from what flows through municipal networks, which often goes through treatment plants and, in extreme cases, desalination. The result is that water within the same city can have different minerals, tastes, and quality levels.

The bottled water myth

But the confusion really kicks in when we talk about bottled water. Many brands sell "spring" water that actually comes from the distribution network, after passing through treatment plants. The most famous case is Dasani, the Coca-Cola brand that in 2004 sold bottled Thames water in the UK as "pure natural water" at 1.41 euros per half liter. Investigative journalism revealed it was nothing more than tap water from the Sidcup factory.

The paradox is that fountain water, free of charge, can be of better quality than bottled water. And yet, many people fill jugs at public fountains, while others pay for water that is the same as what comes out of any toilet tank. Marketing turns water into a "premium hydrological experience," but in the end, the liquid is the same.

The unsettling fact: in Barcelona, the water from the Font de Canaletas, the famous fountain on the Ramblas, is the same as what comes out of the toilet tank in any bathroom in that area.