This page is a translation of the Italian version, which remains the reference text. The service is installed in Italy, in Lazio and Emilia-Romagna. Read the Italian original
Tap water or bottled water?
Both are drinking waters, governed by two different sets of rules, and the choice between them is not a question of safety. It is a question of cost, taste and effort.
Italy is among the highest consumers of bottled water in the world, despite having a tested public network. This page compares the two on what actually differs.
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How each is regulated
| Tap water | Bottled water | |
|---|---|---|
| Rules | Legislative Decree 18/2023 | the natural mineral water regime |
| Who tests it | network operator + local health authority | the producer, under ministerial authorisation |
| How often | continuously, along the network | periodically, at the source |
| Can it be treated? | yes, it is made potable | natural mineral water, no, except in set cases |
| Composition | varies by area and over time | stable, declared on the label |
The underlying difference: mains water is made potable and tested along the whole route; natural mineral water must already be bacteriologically pure at the source and arrives as it is. Two different philosophies, both legitimate.
What they cost
Here there is no contest, and it is the figure that surprises most.
| Cost per litre | A year | |
|---|---|---|
| Mains water | about €0.002 | about €3 |
| Bottle on offer | about €0.12 | about €190 |
| Branded mineral water | about €0.25 | about €400 |
| With a purifier on subscription | — | €358.80 in fees |
Mains water costs roughly a hundred times less than the cheapest bottle. That is why the comparison between a purifier and bottled water is closer than it looks: a purifier does not charge you for the water, it charges you for the service of treating it. The full sum.
What is not measured in euros
The weight
1,600 litres a year is about 110 crates of six 1.5-litre bottles: more than a crate and a half a week to buy, load, carry up and then dispose of. In a building without a lift it is the item that weighs most, and it appears in no sum.
The space
The crates have to go somewhere: in the kitchen, in the cellar, on the balcony. People who stop buying them notice in the first month.
The plastic
Around 700 1.5-litre bottles a year for that household. Even when recycled properly, the plastic has to be produced, transported and processed.
The transport
Bottled water is heavy and travels by road. That is why the environmental footprint of bottled water is dominated by logistics more than by the container.
When bottled water makes sense
For honesty, the cases where buying water remains the right choice:
- If your doctor has indicated a water with a precise composition. A label declares the figures; mains water changes over time and by area.
- If you drink very little and the sum for any system does not add up.
- If you are on a short let or move house often.
- If there is an order in force on the water in your area, in which case what the town council says applies.
The third way
There is an option almost nobody considers and that costs nothing: drink the tap water as it is, keeping it in a jug in the fridge for a few hours so the chlorine evaporates. If the only problem was the taste, this solves it at no cost.
A purifier is for when you want something more than that: a lower dry residue, a consistent taste, sparkling water at home. It is not an obligatory step, and it is right that whoever is selling says so.
30 days of free water. You only pay if you stay.
We install the system without you paying a single euro up front. If it does not convince you, write to us by day 30: we come and collect it at our own expense, with no penalty.
If you stay, from day 31 it is €29,90 a month plus a one-off €120 installation fee. Cancel whenever you like. The terms
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Questions about tap and bottled water
Does tap water give the same guarantees as bottled?
Both are drinking waters regulated by law, under different regimes. Mains water is tested far more frequently because it is sampled all along the distribution network; natural mineral water must already be pure at the source. Neither offers guarantees superior to the other in absolute terms.
How much do you save by drinking tap water?
A great deal: mains water costs around two thousandths of a euro a litre, against the 12 cents of a bottle on offer. For a household of three drinking around 1,600 litres a year the difference is nearly €200 a year against the cheapest bottle, and around €400 against a branded mineral water.
Does bottled water contain microplastics?
Several studies have found plastic microparticles in bottled waters, and it is an open area of research that health bodies are working on. There are no definitive conclusions about the effects, and anyone presenting them as certain is simplifying: the reference is the reports of health authorities, not the sites selling systems.
Can I drink tap water anywhere in Italy?
In general yes: water distributed by public networks is drinkable by law. The exceptions are local and temporary, and when there is one the town council issues a public order. If in doubt, the operator's website and the town council are the sources.