Reaching for the right water Posted on May 26, 2020
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Christina Hutchinson - Communications, Texas Water Development Board (00:00):
Healthier eating and drinking. It’s a commitment that many of us make. Drinking more water is a great start. The benefits of drinking water are numerous. But with all of the options available, which water is the best water to reach for?
Here at the Texas Water Development Board, we’re huge fans of water. It’s what we do. So, we thought we’d go on a hydration exploration and ask Texans about types of water and what’s behind their labels. Then, we sat down with our in-house expert to find out the facts.
Larry French - Groundwater Division Director, Texas Water Development Board (00:31):
I'm Larry French. I'm the Director of the Groundwater Division at the Texas Water Development Board.
VO (00:36):
Do you think that tap water is as good for you as bottled water?
Brittany Torres (00:39):
I don't know if there's necessarily a difference in benefit-wise.
Jordan Ruiz (00:46):
I think they’re about the same. They’re not necessarily better for you.
Larry French - Groundwater Division Director, Texas Water Development Board (00:49):
Generally, tap water is perfectly safe. It's from a municipality or water supplier that's adhering to the state standards. Bottled water, similarly, is water that's often from the same source and just undergoes some additional treatment processes, maybe to remove impurities.
VO (1:05):
What is purified water?
John Poole (1:07):
Water that has been cleaned in some fashion.
Larry French - Groundwater Division Director, Texas Water Development Board (1:11):
Purified water is water that's undergone various levels of treatment to remove impurities, and that can be through reverse osmosis, or distillation, or other processes, basically to reduce the mineral content of the water.
VO (1:24):
So, what type of water do you drink and why?
Keed Johnson (01:29):
Distilled water. Mostly because I have a CPAP machine, and it's just cheaper for me to just buy a whole bunch of it at one time and not have to distinguish tap water from any type of other water before I just stick it into my machine.
VO (01:48):
What is distilled water?
Brittany Torres (01:51):
I want to say it's water that's been purified by boiling it or something. It’s just a different means of cleaning the water so it's safe to drink.
Larry French - Groundwater Division Director, Texas Water Development Board (02:01):
Basically, distilled water is when you boil water, collect the steam, then condense the steam, and then that's the water; that is distilled water. So, it's basically pure—pure water, only water, no mineral content at all.
VO (02:14):
Where does sparkling water come from?
Jordan Ruiz (02:18):
From factories or something. I don’t know.
Larry French - Groundwater Division Director, Texas Water Development Board (02:21):
Sparkling water is water that’s basically carbonated. And it can be naturally carbonated or it can be injected with carbon dioxide to give it that bubbly feel to it.
VO (02:31):
What is tonic water?
Brittany Torres (02:34):
I don't know. I know people use it to mix drinks, and that's about it.
Keed Johnson (02:41):
It’s supposed to have some kind of alkalines in it.
Larry French - Groundwater Division Director, Texas Water Development Board (02:43):
Yes, he's correct. Tonic water does have an alkaline substance added, typically quinine.
VO (02:49):
What is mineral water, and where does it come from?
Jordan Ruiz (02:54):
A spring?
John Poole (02:55):
And or minerals being added to water from springs.
Larry French - Groundwater Division Director, Texas Water Development Board (03:01):
Yeah. Mineral water is simply water that has minerals added to it. It may be naturally occurring or maybe some additionals, but it has a calcium, magnesium, maybe other salts that can be added for flavor. You know, many people think that the, you know, for health reasons, mineral water can be beneficial. And certainly at the right levels, it can be just fine. But there isn't any particular advantage of mineral water over other sources of water
VO (03:27)
So, there are many options available to help you stay hydrated. But which type of water is the best?
Larry French - Groundwater Division Director, Texas Water Development Board (03:32):
I'd say the water that you enjoy the most is the best one, and that can be tap water, sparkling water—whatever water it is, just drink it.
This article is posted in Water Supply .