It's all tap water, why do foreigners drink it directly?

Review expert: Wang Guoyi, Postdoctoral Fellow in Nutrition and Food Safety, China Agricultural University

Just last July, the Indian Express reported that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was hospitalized with severe abdominal pain after drinking a glass of water from a holy river to prove that it was fit for drinking.

Source: Overseas Network

After seeing this news, the editor suddenly thought: it seems that foreigners do not have the habit of drinking hot water. They drink water directly from the tap, while in China, tap water is boiled before drinking. So, are foreigners not afraid of bacterial infection? Can tap water be drunk directly? Let's talk about drinking water today~

Source: pixabay

Is tap water drinkable?

Generally speaking, tap water refers to the domestic water used by residents. It is mainly drawn from rivers, lakes, groundwater and surface water by water plants, and then transported to water pumping stations after sedimentation, disinfection, filtration and other steps, and then distributed to every household for use. According to the "Standards for Drinking Water Hygiene" (GB5749-2006) jointly issued by China's Ministry of Health, the testing indicators of tap water include microbiological indicators, toxicological indicators, sensory properties, general chemical indicators and radioactive indicators. Water plants in all regions must implement this standard, and the water leaving the factory is safe water.

Source: China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment website

However, the domestic acceptance of drinking tap water is not high. In addition to traditional habits, it is also because many families will find that the water from the tap is yellow or has an odor. The pipes of tap water are mainly galvanized pipes. After long-term use, they are corroded and metal will precipitate into the water source. However, research and testing show that it is lower than the national standard and does not pose a health risk. The odor is caused by the disinfection process of tap water. Tap water is usually disinfected with fluoride. The residual fluoride will irritate the digestive tract mucosa. Although the content is extremely low and fluoride is volatile, the public still psychologically does not accept the odor.

Although the above problems are not harmful, tap water is susceptible to secondary pollution in the process of being transported to users through pipes. The rust, silt, bacteria, etc. produced by the aging and corrosion of the pipes will affect the water quality. In addition to direct pipeline transportation, some residents use water tanks for water, and tap water will breed a large number of bacteria if left for a long time.

Source: pixabay

Generally speaking, according to national standards, tap water is suitable for drinking, but in reality it cannot be drunk directly. It is best to boil it before drinking. As for the water that the Indian official drank, it should be untreated river water, which may contain pollutants and a large number of microorganisms, and it is not drinkable even after boiling.

Direct drinking water VS tap water

In China, the general concept is to divide water into tap water and direct drinking water. Although tap water can meet national health standards through filtering, disinfection and other processes, it is easy to be contaminated by impurities and bacteria during transportation, so it is not recommended to drink it directly, and it is also called raw water. Direct drinking water refers to water that can be drunk directly. It is tap water that has been further filtered and purified by nanofiltration membranes and other technologies to remove impurities and bacteria. It is direct drinking water that meets world health standards , such as bottled water, mineral water, distilled water, etc. on the market. Whether it is cold or hot, it can be drunk directly.

Source: pixabay

In the 1950s, in order to ensure the health of residents' drinking water, China advocated that the public boil drinking water before drinking to eliminate microorganisms in the water. This habit has been preserved since then, so there is less demand for direct drinking water in China. But in foreign countries, in addition to drinking tea and coffee, people drink cold water directly from the tap. Aren't they afraid of bacterial infection? In fact, Western developed countries often have higher standards for residents' drinking water. In addition, the water they drink directly is generally direct drinking water filtered by ultrafiltration technology, rather than ordinary tap water. In other words, the response to water pollution in China is to boil tap water for drinking, while in foreign countries, tap water is directly converted into direct drinking water.

Why should we pay attention to water pollution?

Due to the habit of drinking hot water, Chinese people do not know much about the harm of water pollution. However, a survey by the World Health Organization found that about 1.2 billion people in the world have intestinal infectious diseases due to water pollution, and about 4 million people have died from diseases. Common pathogens in drinking water include intestinal pathogens, viruses, waterborne pathogenic protozoa and parasites (schistosoma), as well as many unknown microorganisms. Even clear river water may contain a large number of microorganisms. In some underdeveloped countries, there are not enough conditions to treat water quality. In addition, with economic development, the discharge of industrial wastewater and domestic sewage has increased, and water pollution has become more serious. The problem of drinking water safety is very serious. For example, in the Ganges River in India, even if a large amount of domestic sewage is discharged, many people still drink it directly. Therefore, water pollution prevention and control is an arduous task for all countries in the world. What needs to be done is to improve sewage treatment technology, increase the publicity of water pollution prevention and control, and improve people's understanding of water pollution and attention to drinking water safety. Only by reducing water pollution from the root can people drink safe water. In short, water is an indispensable resource for human survival and development. For the harmonious co-development of humans and the environment, water pollution prevention and control is urgent.

Source: pexels

As residents, what we can do is to avoid drinking raw water directly in our daily lives. For those who like to drink tap water directly, you can choose to buy a water purifier, but you must choose a high-quality ultrafiltration water purifier. Of course, you should also pay attention to saving water!