Water from Tap

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SAP101
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Water from Tap

Post by SAP101 » Fri Nov 02, 2007 3:45 pm

Hi!

Sorry to ask but I am new in Espoo and Finland. Is water from the Tap here safe for everyday drinking?

Thanks in advance



Water from Tap

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Karhunkoski
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Post by Karhunkoski » Fri Nov 02, 2007 3:51 pm

Have you drank some?
Political correctness is the belief that it's possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

EP
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Post by EP » Fri Nov 02, 2007 3:57 pm

Well, it is good enough for Saudis, only they buy it in bottles, you get it straight from the tap:

"in 2004 alone, a Helsinki company shipped 1.4 million bottles of Finnish tap water 4,300 kilometers (2,700 miles) to Saudi Arabia"

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0205-01.htm

SAP101
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Post by SAP101 » Fri Nov 02, 2007 3:58 pm

how I wish that my question will NOT be answered by another question :twisted:

Juha H.
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Re: Water from Tap

Post by Juha H. » Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:00 pm

SAP101 wrote:Hi!

Sorry to ask but I am new in Espoo and Finland. Is water from the Tap here safe for everyday drinking?

Thanks in advance
Some years ago tap water in the area was tested against bottled waters. Number One was - tap water!

http://arkisto.sll.fi/tiedotus/2002/Pul ... rhake.html
Last edited by Juha H. on Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

SAP101
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Post by SAP101 » Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:03 pm

Thanks guys! I wont be thirsty anymore :lol:

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MSameer
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Post by MSameer » Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:12 pm

EP wrote:Well, it is good enough for Saudis, only they buy it in bottles, you get it straight from the tap:

"in 2004 alone, a Helsinki company shipped 1.4 million bottles of Finnish tap water 4,300 kilometers (2,700 miles) to Saudi Arabia"

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0205-01.htm
In Saudi arabia, you should not drink tab water. Of course you can but that's up to you.

They have stations where people go there and buy water to use for cooking and drinking.
std::cout << Signatures::get_signature("MSameer") << std::endl;

Meri-Tuuli
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Post by Meri-Tuuli » Fri Nov 02, 2007 9:24 pm

Yes, its fine to drink from the tap if its from a municipality water supply, ie not from your own borehole (and alot of Finns get their water from their own borehole I might add, so its not a joke!)

But with a borehole, in some areas, you have to be careful about the radon content. But clearly, living in Espoo, you're unlikely to have your own water supply.

Interestingly, Finland is one of the worlds 'richest' countries in terms of water and water supply*

Its because of all those nice deposits left by the glaciers that act as huge filters, and the fact that Finland is sparsely populated. Very little water is drawn from lakes, its mostly groundwater, contrary to popular belief - from foreigners anyway. Pohjavesi.

Also you can drink the water not just from the kitchein tap, but from bathrooms too (I'm assuming its on the cold setting). I personally don't do this (it doesn't seem somehow right to me) but at the uni I go to, I see Finnish girls in the toliets filling up their water bottles, and drinking directly from the tap. I wouldn't do this through.


____________________________
*
Water Poverty Index

According to the World Water Forum, the international Water Poverty Index (WPI) scores the top 10 water-rich nations on 5 categories. The categories are: the size of a country’s total water resources; how available those resources are to the population; how developed the country’s water infrastructure and delivery systems are; how efficiently or wastefully a country uses its water; and how well a country manages any environmental impact to its water.

Listed in ascending order below are the countries scoring the highest marks on the WPI.

1. Finland
2. Canada
3. Iceland
4. Norway
5. Guyana
6. Suriname
7. Austria
8. Ireland
9. Sweden
10. Switzerland.

JohnWatson

Post by JohnWatson » Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:16 pm

Also you can drink the water not just from the kitchein tap, but from bathrooms too (I'm assuming its on the cold setting). I personally don't do this (it doesn't seem somehow right to me) but at the uni I go to, I see Finnish girls in the toliets filling up their water bottles, and drinking directly from the tap. I wouldn't do this through/though?.
Can\t believe the word \university\ and the comment above can be in the same pargraph. Why in whatever name would not the water be EXACTLY the same from a kitchen or bathroom tap?

As far as worldwide tapwater goes, it has been shown in MANY blind tests that the ridiculously priced bottled waters do not taste as good as tap water! People are IDIOTS to buy bottled water unless they really KNOW there is a reason to!

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Post by Rosamunda » Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:25 pm

Why??????

People buy Coca Cola, people buy Indian Tonic Water, people buy Mountain Dew. Why can't people buy mineral water if they want to. Mineral water - like Contrex, Volvic, etc - cannot be compared to ordinary tap water. When I lived in France I bought tap water in the same way that many people buy soda... because I like the taste, I like the fizz (of carbonated water) and... there are huge health benefits of drinking highly mineralised waters like Contrex (rich in Calcium so great for post menopausal women, or for kids like my son who are allergic to dairy products).

I occasionally buy bottled water here because I like sparkling/carbonated water (OTOH I never buy soda). I live in Espoo and I find the water has a strong taste of chlorine so I filter mine (Britax filter) and we all agree it tastes much better. I think the water in downtown Helsinki tastes wonderful though, so if I lived in the city I wouldn't bother to filter.

Juha H.
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Post by Juha H. » Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:39 pm

penelope wrote:
People buy Coca Cola, people buy Indian Tonic Water, people buy Mountain Dew. Why can't people buy mineral water if they want to. Mineral water - like Contrex, Volvic, etc - cannot be compared to ordinary tap water.
What has been said above does not make tap water any worse. I also use Pisara or Lidl water, because they have carbohydrates. I also have pure spring water in my fridge, if I remember to bring some.

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muddymuddy1
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Post by muddymuddy1 » Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:49 pm

JohnWatson wrote: Can\t believe the word \university\ and the comment above can be in the same pargraph. Why in whatever name would not the water be EXACTLY the same from a kitchen or bathroom tap?
Because in some parts of the world (UK for sure) it is common not to have cold water supply to bathrooms directly from the mains supply.

UK kitchens have direct cold water mains supply, however the cold supply to bathrooms often comes via a cold water storage tank. This tank usually sits in the attic and can be stale and if uncovered, full of dead pigeons :)

That's Victorian building stock for you. Dickens is alive and well in Ye Olde London town :)

JohnWatson

Post by JohnWatson » Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:49 pm

Why??????


I said / UNLESS YOU KNOW THE REASON WHY !!!!!

I buy Lidl\s Saski / because of carbonation

If you see that there really are analyzed minerals etc that you think you need or taste or otherwise want / fine/ pay the premium

I was more referring to people that buy still Evian etc / and are basically getting nothing better in any way than tap water. Many companies in US have been found to be bottling tap water and selling in bottles at nonsense prices

Listen to NPR/s Splendid Table and Lynne Rosetto Kasper has been blindtested and found Minneapolis tapwater better tasting than Evian!

But people just buying on price and bottles are being mostly FOOLED!
Last edited by JohnWatson on Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

sammy
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Post by sammy » Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:52 pm

penelope wrote:I live in Espoo and I find the water has a strong taste of chlorine so I filter mine (Britax filter) and we all agree it tastes much better. I think the water in downtown Helsinki tastes wonderful though, so if I lived in the city I wouldn't bother to filter.
Hmm, well yes then you do have a reason to filter / buy bottled water. The tap H2O here in Malminkartano tastes okay, can't detect a hint of chlorine in it (or maybe I've become taste-blind).

Despite that we also do buy vissy regularly, it is not necessary but I also happen to like sparkling water.

Meri-Tuuli
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Post by Meri-Tuuli » Sat Nov 03, 2007 12:55 am

Well of course, if the taste isn't to your liking you can filter it, but what I meant was, it is technically drinkable I'm sure in Espoo.

And yes, it is nice to drink mineral-rich mineral water for the minerals (I do anyway).......a word of which, note what it says on the bottle (this being the EU and all that) because there are actually quite strict critera on what you can call 'natural mineral water' or 'natural spring water' and 'table water' and then the likes of Novelle and Bon Aqua which are just normal water, carbonated..... and yes, I happen to like the bubbles so I do drink them.

And there might be many reasons why you chose not to drink the water from the tap (even here in Finland) -- it all depends on where it is coming from!

And yes, if you saw the colour of the water coming out of my parents-in-laws cottage in the bathroom in Ireland, you will understand immediately why you don't assume you can drink the water from bathrooms..........


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