The concept of water potability is based on the absence of substances that are harmful to health. The criteria associated with potability are laid down by health safety agencies and depend on the country concerned.

Broadly speaking, they take into account physicochemical, organoleptic and microbiological parameters and the quantity of undesirable substances.

The maximum quantities or tolerated thresholds of these undesirable substances are defined according to criteria based on current scientific knowledge. However, these studies are often incomplete or do not take into account new substances discovered at a late stage. Examples include the recent water scandals involving PFAS, TFA and vinyl chloride.

New pollutants are discovered regularly, and not only do our drinking water treatment systems become obsolete over time, but they are often ineffective against a growing number of pollutants that concentrate in our groundwater.

And even if thresholds are set, below which each pollutant is not supposed to be toxic or dangerous, we know on the one hand that there is a phenomenon of bioaccumulation in the body, and on the other, that the cocktail effects of these substances are poorly known and difficult to identify, although deleterious.

As for bottled water, we now know that not only is it polluted, but that its standards are much more relaxed than those for tap water, and that controls are less rigorous.

The only way to avoid these risks is to filter and depollute tap water, even if it is still ‘drinkable’ and partly depolluted. Adopt the right approach and opt for a Star Water Filter® gravity-fed water filtration system.

You can find out more on this subject on our ‘Why filter your drinking water’ page.