Tap water

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A water tap

Tap water (running water) is part of indoor plumbing, which became available in the late 19th century and common in the mid-20th century.

The provision of tap water requires a massive infrastructure of piping, pumps, and water purification works. The direct cost of the tap water alone, however, is a small fraction of that of bottled water, often as little as 0.01%^{[citation needed]}. Experimental attempts have been made to introduce non-potable greywater or rainwater for these secondary uses in order to reduce enormous environmental and energy costs. In urban China, drinking water can be optionally delivered by a separate tap.

The availability of clean tap water brings major public health benefits. Usually, the same administration that provides tap water is also responsible for the removal and treatment before discharge or reclamation of wastewater.

In many areas, fluoride is added to the tap water as a means to improve public dental health. This remains a controversial issue in the health, freedoms and rights of the individual.

Tap water may contain various types of natural but relatively harmless contaminants such as scaling agents like calcium carbonate in hard water and metal ions such as magnesium and iron, and odoriferous gases such as hydrogen sulfide. Local geological conditions affecting groundwater are determining factors of the presence of these substances in water.

Occasionally, there are health scares concerning the leakage of dangerous biological or chemical contaminating agents into local water supplies when people are advised by public health officials not to drink the water, and stick to bottled water instead. An example is the recent discovery of potentially hazardous nitrates in the public water supply in Phoenix, Arizona [1].

1 Tap water uses
2 Tap Water vs Bottled Water
3 See also
4 External links

Tap water uses

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According to a 1999 American Water Works Association Research Foundation study^{[citation needed]} on residential end uses of water in the United States, Americans drink more than 1 glass of tap water per day (the daily human drinking water requirement being 2-3 quarts). Daily indoor per capita water use in a typical single family home is 69.3 gallons (260 litres), falling into the following categories:

Toilets - 26.7% (18.5 gal.)
Clothes Washers - 21.7% (15 gal.)
Showers - 16.8% (11.6 gal.)
Faucets (including drinking water at ca. 1%) - 15.7% (10.9 gal.)
Leaks - 12.7% (9.5 gal.)
Baths - 1.7% (1.2 gal.)
Dishwashers - 1.4% (1.0 gal.)
Other indoor domestic uses - 2.2% (1.6 gal.)]]

Of all water supplied to studied homes annually, for perspective, 42 percent was for indoor purposes and 58 percent for outdoor purposes.

Tap Water vs Bottled Water

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Tap water is an alternative to bottled water, and is preferred by many Americans because their water wholesalers and water companies claim to provide pure, clean and healthy water to consumers.

In 2007, it was found that some bottled water companies were selling water that was contaminated and less healthy for consumers than tap water. The Natural Resources Defense Council conducted a four year study on bottled water. The results of this study show that one-third of the bottled water tested contained levels of contamination which exceeds allowable limits under either state or bottled water industry standards or guidelines.^[1]

Many large corporations and some water companies and wholesalers, especially in the California Bay Area are now making a large effort to promote tap water over bottled water. Some of the Bay Area cities that promote tap over bottled water include San Francisco, Emeryville, Santa Clara, and Oakland. The Santa Clara Valley Water District in Santa Clara County launched its tap v bottled water campaign, with the slogan, “Tap Water, the Clear Choice”, in 2007. The District's campaign is found at its Tap v Bottled Site.

During the 2007 U.S Conference of Mayors, the mayors of San Francisco, Salt Lake City and Minneapolis signed a pledge to promote tap water over bottled water as part of the “Think Outside the Bottle” campaign.^[2]