The difference between different types of water sold in the UK is often a point of confusion for customers – as different brand use different definitions to brand and sell their product.
In fact the legal definitions for Spring and Mineral water are determined by governmental regulations updated in 1999 – “The Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water Regulations 1999″. This is common in many countries and therefore both mineral and spring water can vary greatly in different countries.
Spring water is collected directly from the a natural source – typically far underground in natural aquifers – and must be bottled at the source. UK sources of spring water must meet certain hygiene standards, and may be further treated so they meet pollution regulations.
Importantly for bottlers of water it can be extracted from different wells/sources in the same area – therefore if one source becomes polluted then the bottler can continue supplying from the same aquifer but from a different well. For this reason most of the larger bottlers in the UK sell Spring Water as it allows for continuity of supply.
Mineral water emerges from under the ground, then flows over rocks before it’s collected. Unlike spring water, it can’t be treated except to remove grit and dirt. Mineral water again has to be bottled and source and historically it was often the case that people would travel to certain locations to drink mineral water that was said to have specific health benefits.
Different brands of spring and mineral waters have differing amounts of minerals depending on their source – details on the spring water that The Water Delivery company sells for water cooler customers is available in the water information section of our website. This is also mirrored on our supplier Fonthill’s website.
Details on the spring water we sell in small pack bottles of sparkling and still water is also available through our website and on the website of Princes Gate.
A clear and precise definition; However, I was hoping for “artesian” water to be discussed also.
Artesian in itself is not a way of further defining water – rather a part of system through which water can be extracted from underground. An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater that will flow upward through a well without the need for pumping.
Water may even reach the ground surface if the natural pressure is high enough, in which case the well is called a flowing artesian well. The water from an artesian aquifer – as we understand it – can be either spring or mineral water, but is rarely if ever described as “Artesian Water”.
This however may be different in the USA – our definitions of spring and mineral are localised to the UK as the definitions come from central UK governmental bodies.