Londoners have relied on water from the Thames up to 1582 when the water was pumped directly to its users. Before then they used to use the water of the Thames, or Tamesis, as the Romans used to call it, or one of its tributaries.
The water in the Thames was not great as drinking water, and some individuals were lucky enough to be able to drink pure spring water from one of the nearby natural underground springs.
The original water infrastructure was manufactured mostly of wood and lead, and was destroyed in the Great Fire of London. The current infrastructure is what replaced the original, and is very old and dilapidated, and deteriorating very badly in places.
How Good is the Tap Water in London?
Although some say that if you let the sediment and silt settle overnight, you can actually drink the water from the Thames, I would rather not.
Around 80% of London’s tap water is sourced from storage reservoirs connected to the River Thames and a tributary, the River Lea. Thames Water carries out approximately five hundred thousand tests on drinking-water samples.
London’s tap water is said to be amongst the best, and passes all the requirements set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), which was formed in 1990 to provide independent reassurance that the water supplies in England and Wales are safe and that the drinking water quality is acceptable to consumers
The DWI recommends waiting for a minute before you drink tap water as it can appear cloudy at first but soon settles, and discourages drinking water from the hot water tap as it could contain high levels of copper.
London’s tap water is said to be safe to drink, but it is very high in calcium, which makes it hard water that can smell or taste a bit strange if you are not used to it and can leave a bit of scum on surfaces.
If you have any concerns about drinking the tap water in London, then investing in a water cooler may be a good idea as Living-Water, London’s premier water cooler company offers bottled water coolers containing Living-Water Spring Water sourced and bottled at Wenworth as well as mains water coolers that can be fitted with their Living-Water Triple Activated Carbon Filter that give you pure, great tasting drinking water. A bonus is that a water cooler also chills the water so it really slakes your thirst too.
