Sustainability

The Origin of Bottled Water

Natural mineral waters and spring waters are naturally sourced waters. This means that they come from protected sources that require no chemical treatment to make them fit for human consumption. They are to water what organic is to agricultural produce. 

These natural sources are known as groundwater sources. 


Groundwater is water that accumulates underground. These sources are typically replenished by rain water or snow, that lands and then soaks into the ground and travels (for several months or for many thousands of years depending on the local geology), through layers of rocks and sand on its way to its underground destination. The journey itself provides a natural purification of the water, and the underground location of the source also means that it can be protected from pollution.

Not all of the waters we drink come from protected groundwater. The other principal source of water is surface water.

Surface water, as the name suggests, is water that accumulates of the surface of the planet, typically in rivers and reservoirs, which themselves can be replenished either by rain that lands and then runs into them, or by water that has previously been used in the municipal supply system, which is then treated and discharged.

Whilst this is not an acceptable source of water for natural mineral waters or spring waters, it can be used for tap water, so long as it is chemically treated to make it safe for human consumption.

© 2008 EFBW | Contact : Tel.:+32(0)2 210 20 32 | info@efbw.eu