Mineral Water vs Spring Water
Water is the liquid of life. There is no life form on earth that can live without water. The amount of water on earth is cycled by the ‘water cycle’ and, therefore, water molecules may exist in oceans, in clouds, in icebergs, and running under the earth’s crust, running on the earth’s crust in a river, stagnant in a pond, and pouring down as rain at some point of their life cycle. Although 70% of the earth is covered with water, there is always a crisis of finding safe hygienic water due to the diminishing of drinking water sources as a result of environmental pollution. Mineral water and spring water are two of those safe water sources facing the threat.
Mineral Water
Mineral water is found from mineral springs. A spring is a natural setting where water oozes out from under the soil water reservoirs. This type of reserves may have formed after heavy rains where water is drained in to the spaces below the soil among the rock beds. The process may have even taken years. Since there is least disturbance from human activities, most of these mineral springs deliver drinkable water. Sometimes the water may be contaminated with pesticides or agricultural chemicals mixed via the soil contact and thus unsuitable for drinking. Some mineral springs are highly rich in minerals due to rich mineral deposits neighboring the spring. Although this water is not safe to drink, it maybe used for bathing. Some springs are popular for therapeutic use of its water and create a lot of tourist attraction.
Mineral water contains lots of dissolved salts and Sulphur compounds. At present, it is very common that people consume mineral water, which comes in ‘bottles’. This is a good trend where everyone does not have access to safe drinking water, but the negative point is that people have to ‘buy’ it now. According to U.S Food and Drug Administration mineral water is defined as containing at least 250 parts per million total dissolved solids and originating from geologically and physically protected underground water source. When mineral water is bottled they are analyzed to confirm safety and to have standard concentrations of mineral ions in the range of safe usage. In some parts of the world mineral water may contain very high concentrations of dissolved calcium and magnesium ions. Then the water is called ‘hard’ water, and it is not good to use.
Spring Water
Spring is a place where water oozes out from underground. Some springs run deep down and, therefore, delivers hot water (hot water springs). Because the water source is underground, spring water is necessarily mineral rich. Water quality and mineral content may vary from spring to spring, depending on the climate and surrounding.
What is the difference between Mineral Water and Spring Water?
There is actually no big difference in terms of the contents in mineral water and spring water. The difference lies in the way we define. When water contains minerals it is mineral water and when water comes from a spring it is spring water.