Softened Drinking Water
Consumers Summary
If you are concerned about drinking softened water you needn‘t be.
There has never been any evidence linking the drinking of softened water to any health risks.
These are the current facts:
A drinking water tap supplied with softened water meets the requirement of the drinking water regulations in 95% (approximately) of England.
In those areas where the water hardness exceeds 400 ppm then the sodium content of the softened water will approach or exceed the recommended limit of 200 ppm. In such instances the softened drinking water is suitable for the majority of the population, but it is recommended that it should not be drunk by the immunocompromised or used for the mixing of baby feeds.
So, that‘s the official position but common sense would suggest that having a separate hard water tap being fed with raw mains water gives everyone the option to choose and absolves our industry from the difficulty of explaining the pros and cons to every individual customer. You can download the book about it here: Softened Drinking Water Booklet
You might be interested to know that on the Continent the World Health Organisation’s recommendation that there is no upper limit for sodium is adhered to. It is only the British Government that applies the 200 ppm limit.
As of 2008 the current ongoing discussions seem to indicate that there is no evidence supporting the hardness and calcium theory but there may be some benefit attributed to magnesium. My personal interpretation, having studied the papers and met the scientists and researchers, is that there may be a benefit to drinking water with magnesium content for those people on a very poor diet that is magnesium deficient. Currently there is insufficient evidence to support any general agreement amongst the scientists, let alone regulatory bodies and vested interests.
So my personal recommendation is this; if it is easy to fit a separate hard water drinking tap then do so, and if you enjoy the taste of the mains water then drink it. If, however, you much prefer beverages made with softened water, or the plumbing in of a separate hard water drinking tap is difficult, then by all means drink softened water. I have been drinking softened water for over 35 years. My children were brought up on it, including the mixing of their baby feeds, and we are all fit and healthy.
My common sense view is that there is far more health benefit from a little exercise and a good diet.
Technical Summary
Drinking softened water has been a topic of conversation ever since the British Regional Heart study, first published in 1980, postulated that soft water may contribute to heart attacks. Even though the published article stated under conclusions “There is no evidence to suggest that artificially softened water is associated with increased cardio vascular mortality”. This was written by Shaper, Packham and Pocock et al but the media got hold of the idea that soft water causes heart attacks so people turned off their water softeners and common sense flew out of the window.
Since then the arguments have gone back and forth with very little real evidence one way or the other and the margin of probability still being very small.
In 2006 I published my own little book to try and clarify the situation and you can download a copy here: Softened Drinking Water Booklet.
Subsequent to my publication the World Health Organisation convened a conference in Baltimore which I attended.
It was interesting in that nobody had any clear evidence one way or the other apart from the water expert supplying chicken farms. The life span of chickens is so short that they could experiment with the drinking water quality and have huge amounts of data to demonstrate their theories.
Meanwhile, the most interesting and entertaining presentation was from an Indian gentleman whose name I forget, but what was most memorable is that before giving his paper based on modern epidemiological studies he recited from an ancient Indian book of knowledge the following.
As near as I can remember it was suggested that:
-
Water for drinking should be cool.
-
It should be clear.
-
It should not have an unpleasant smell.
-
It should not contain any germs.
-
It should contain some minerals.
-
It should have a nice taste.
Everybody laughed and I thought ‘here speaks a man with humility and common sense’.
If you are looking for advice as to what you should drink, or whether or not you should have a separate hard water drinking tap then here is what I know.
Softened water from one of my water softeners conforms to the drinking water regulations in the UK except in a very small number of areas where the water is extremely hard at over 400 ppm of hardness.
You can download a copy of the Guidelines for the Installation of Ion Exchange Water Softeners which covers separate hard water drinking taps here.
This is my commonsense viewpoint.
My own personal opinion is that any risk associated with drinking softened water is infinitesimal when compared to the risks associated with eating butter, drinking red wine or indeed getting out of bed in the morning. (Apparently there is statistical evidence that at least one person died getting out of bed, yet there is no statistical evidence that anyone has died from drinking softened water).
I personally have been drinking softened water or reverse osmosis water or carbon filtered water for the last 35 years. I am extremely healthy and so are all my family.
However, under the precautionary principle we recommend the installation of a separate hard water drinking tap so that our customers have the choice. If however the installation is difficult or you just don’t want the extra tap then drink the softened water. Millions of people do. It complies with current regulations and makes a great cup of tea!
Will the argument end?
The current thinking is that there is no evidence to support the calcium theory but there may be some evidence to support the magnesium theory. The theory being that if you are magnesium deficient in your food diet then any magnesium ingested by water will be of benefit and therefore help you to live longer.
I will be updating this information from time to time when new evidence comes to light.
Here are some reference documents: