There is nothing worse than checking into a hotel, to find there isn't a small fridge or any fresh cold water waiting for you! Whether you have travelled for two hours or twenty-four hours to your destination, a fresh cold drink of water on arrival is not much to ask for! Then you have to ask yourself, can we drink the tap water?
If you are visiting Barcelona, you will no doubt ask yourself, can we drink tap water in Barcelona? Well, in a nutshell yes you can drink the tap water. Although, you might be interested to know where it comes from? and does it taste nice?
Is the tap water in Barcelona safe?
In Barcelona, the tap water supply comes from two rivers, the Ter and Llobregat. The Llobregat supplies the city with the majority of its water, which has a really high level of potassium and magnesium with high levels of chlorine used to protect it from contamination.
At work, the residents of Barcelona tend to tolerate the tap water boiled to go into our tea and coffee, but we as the saltwater content is high you can taste it, so, yes the tap water is safe to drink, but no, Barcelona tap water has a high level of potassium and magnesium with high levels of chlorine protect us from contamination, so it's not the best tasting city tap water tbh! If you filter it and you are good to go.
I am from England, so I am knowingly able to make a comparison. In England and Wales, the tap water has one-third of the tap water that comes from underground sources (aquifers) which are an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand and silt). This is said to be the reason why the water in the North West of England (Merseyside and Cheshire) tastes so fresh and clean without a chemical taste.
The water is gathered from reservoirs in the Pennines and the Lake District, directly from Lake Vyrnwy in Wales for customers in Merseyside and Cheshire and from the River Dee, from boreholes and streams. Wherever you live in the world, don't take your tap water for granted.
Is tap water safe to drink?
If the quality has an impact on the way you live your life, speak to the water board. The comparison is not just on the palette, but visually the tap water here is cloudy. I am generally very easy-going, but low-grade tasting domestic tap water in an expensive European city takes in my opinion needs further investment.
Waste production in Catalunya
Waste production in Catalunya in 2016 stands at 3.700 tonnes, equivalent to 1.36 kg a day whereas in Barcelona it stands at 1,29 kg a day. The waste we produce in each city impacts our planet, so even if you live in the countryside or outskirts, the way we live, wherever we live in the world ultimately impacts us all.
What can we do to reduce a large amount of consumer waste we produce?
Using plastic is unavoidable, however, we can be mindful of the PET1 container (100% recycling) and reduce our plastic consumption by adopting the principles of the 4Rs: rethink, reduce, reuse and recycle. 4R is an easy lifestyle to adopt at home, work and in schools, all we have to do is:
1. Rethink twice before you bin it, ask yourself, can I reuse this?
2. Reduce singular-waste products (energy needed for manufacture, transport and disposal) causes less disruption on the ecosystem where the materials originate, are transported through and are disposed of.
3. Reuse (or repair) items and avoid single-use items. Before throwing anything away try to reuse it, give it to charity or repair it.
4. Recycle Over the past 10 years, there has been a big shift internationally from throwing most waste into one big domestic bin, to recycling a large portion of it. Single-stream recycling continues to improve and change the amount of recycling carried out by individuals at home and at work.
Small-big changes are easy to adopt and the benefits are rewarding.
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