Softened Drinking Water

The Facts, the Myths, the Regulations; the Options and the Solutions.
 Softened Drinking Water.
The Facts, The Myths, The Regulations; the Options and the Solutions.

The concerns relating to sodium and hardness levels in drinking water have been raised
spasmodically over the last forty years. The current position of the World Health Organisation,
(WHO), as published in the Water Quality Guidelines 2003, is that there is no concern relating
to sodium and hardness.

However, the recent inclusion of Eastern European countries into the EU and a WHO Workshop
in 2003 have again raised the question of minerals in drinking water. There is also a concern
relating to large scale municipal reverse osmosis water treatment.

Because of this the World Health Organisation is organising a symposium to review nutritional
aspects of calcium and magnesium, and assess any potential benefits from these minerals in
drinking water. The results of this conference and subsequent expert consultation are expected
to be made available during 2006. If there is any change in the WHO Guidelines, and con-
sequent changes to the Drinking Water Regulations, the advice given in this booklet will be
updated accordingly.

Published by Harvey Softeners Ltd/Softener Supplies: retailers and wholesalers to the domestic
Point of Entry/Point of Use water treatment industry.

© Harvey Softeners Ltd 2005.

Softened Drinking Water.

Drinking water supplies in the UK are of a very high quality. There is however a considerable
variation in the level of hardness, due to regional differences in geology. Although rainwater is
naturally soft it tends to pick up minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, as it seeps through
the ground. When it passes through soft rocks, like chalk and limestone, it can pick up high
levels of these minerals and result in hard water.

Hard water causes many problems: scaling and subsequent loss of boiler efficiency, formation
of scum on sanitary ware, increased use of cleaning products and subsequent expenditure, extra
household cleaning, aggravation of eczema etc. To remove these problems many people fit a
water softener.

Water softeners work by treating the water by ion exchange to remove the hardness minerals
and replace them with sodium which does not cause scaling. Water softeners are commonly
installed in private and commercial premises and the question is often posed: is the softened
water suitable for drinking purposes?

This booklet has been written to explain to consumers the opinions relating to the drinking of
softened water and the options available. It incorporates the current scientific, regulatory and
industry points of view and advice.

It is divided into the following sections:

Page 1 Questions and answers.

Page 6 Scientific and regulatory information.
Page 8 Additional advice from the UK Government and Regulatory Advisors.
Page 9 Conclusion.
Page 10 How to install a separate hard water drinking tap.
Page 16 Products available.
Section 1
Questions and Answers.
Q. Is softened water suitable for
drinking purposes?
This is a matter of personal choice. In the ma-
jority of cases softened water will be consid-
ered wholesome and is therefore safe to drink
– but the answer is not always straightforward
as there are some qualifications.
In most of the UK, when hard drinking water
(supplied by a water company) is softened
with a salt regenerated ion exchange wa-
ter softener, the softened water is likely to
comply with the Drinking Water Regulations1.
Provided the concentration of sodium does
not exceed 200 mg/l it would be regarded as
wholesome and therefore considered safe to
drink over the long term.
1 Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2000
However, in some parts of the UK where the
drinking water is very hard, the softening
process will produce water with an increased
sodium content that may not comply with the
regulations and would therefore be considered
unwholesome. In such cases it would not be
suitable for drinking purposes for specific sec-
tors of the population.
Q. Is there a legal requirement for a
separate tap to provide un-softened
water for drinking?
No, but provision of a separate tap to provide
un-softened water is recommended.
Q. Who is making that recommenda-
tion?
The recommendation is made in the Water
Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 and
is endorsed by the Government2, Regulators3,
the water suppliers through WRAS4 and the
water-softener supply industry through the
UKWTA, it’s trade association.
2 Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Water
Q&A
services Unit, The Scottish Executive; Northern Ireland, Department
of the Environment
3 Drinking Water Inspectorate; Water services Unit, The Scottish
Executive; Northern Ireland, Department of the Environment
4 Water Regulations Advisory Service
Q. Why is a separate tap to provide
un-softened water recommended?
It provides ready access to an unsoftened
supply, should the occupants of the premises
consider that using the softened water for
drinking purposes is inappropriate for their
circumstances.
Q. What actually happens when you
soften water by ion exchange?
Domestic softeners typically treat the water
to the whole house. They are salt-regenerated,
ion-exchange units which contain ion ex-
change resin. This resin contains sodium ions
which “swap places” with calcium (together
with magnesium and some other trace metal
ions such as iron and aluminium) as the water
passes through. So calcium and magnesium
are taken out of the water and sodium is put
in.
When the sodium ions on the resin are used
up, the softener is taken off line automatically
and regenerated. The regenerant is common
salt (sodium chloride) solution (brine) and,
during regeneration, the exchange process is
reversed so sodium goes back onto the resin
and the calcium and magnesium are flushed
out to drain. The softener is then ready to go
back on line for another cycle.
Q. Why is it considered that drinking
softened water could be detrimental
to health?
There are several reasons that are often
quoted:
1. Sodium level in the softened water.
When water is softened the elements that
cause the hardness - calcium and magnesium
ions - are exchanged for sodium ions. So the
sodium content of the water increases. The

Section 1
Drinking Water Regulations set a limit of 200
milligrams per litre (mg/l) for sodium.
In most areas of the UK, the resultant increase
in sodium stays within this limit but in some
very hard water areas the increase in sodium
may breach the statutory limit laid down by
these regulations. Whilst this may be of no
significance to the majority of the population,
it may be unsuitable for certain sectors of the
population.
2. Hardness level.
When water is softened all the hardness min-
erals are removed. The current Drinking Wa-
ter Regulations do not contain requirements
for a minimum level of hardness but there are
some studies which have demonstrated that
presence of these hardness minerals may have
some health benefit. These studies associated
areas of the country that are served with natu-
rally soft water with increased frequency of
heart attacks amongst the population and the
assumption was made that drinking artificially
softened water might carry the same risk.
3. Corrosion.
Because naturally soft water sources (lakes,
rivers, etc) are often low in pH (slightly
acidic), they can be corrosive to metals. Hard
water that has been softened has been incor-
rectly assumed to suffer the same disadvan-
tage. Softening water with a salt-regenerated,
ion-exchange softener does not change the
chemical properties that affect water corrosiv-
ity.
This erroneous concern has been extended
to lead pipework (normally not present in
modern buildings) but again, softening will
not affect the corrosivity of the water towards
lead.
The Drinking Water Regulations 2000 have
introduced tighter standards for lead. Should
you have concerns over the presence of lead
pipework within your premises, you should
contact your water company for further

advice.
4. Maintenance.
A domestic water softener should be kept
in continuous use and maintained correctly.
Whilst there is little to go wrong with a
domestic softener and it will normally “fail-
safe”, long periods of stagnation of water
within the softener (after extended holidays
for example), may affect the quality of the
water until it is flushed and returned to normal
service again. Although not a health risk,
the aesthetic quality (taste and odour) of the
drinking water may be impaired.
Q. How much sodium is added to
water during softening?
This is directly related to the hardness of the
water. For every 100 mg/l of calcium carbon-
ate hardness taken out, 46 mg/l of sodium go
in. Add to this any sodium originally in the
water and you have the total sodium in the
water after softening.
To keep below the 200 mg/l threshold for
sodium, you can soften water containing up
to 435 mg/l of calcium carbonate hardness,
depending on the original concentration of
sodium in the water supply, which must also
be allowed for.
Q. Yes, but how much salt is that?
At a typical calcium carbonate hardness of
300 mg/l, such as Greater London, the sodium
in the water as a result of softening would
increase by 138 mg/l. Therefore each litre of
drinking water would contain an additional
138 milligrams of sodium over and above that
which was in the water to start with.
However, this is the sodium content – not the
salt (sodium chloride) content; to equate it to
salt, the chloride must be added. 138 mg/l of
sodium is equivalent to 348 mg/l of sodium
chloride. Therefore, the equivalent increase in
salt intake by the average individual drinking
two litres of softened water a day is 0.696 g.
This is about one tenth of a teaspoonful.

The Food Standards Agency has published
5
data on the dietary intake of salt and the aver-
age salt content of typical foods. The average
total daily salt intake is about 9,500 milli-
grams for an adult, so the contribution from
softened water would be about 7% in a typical
hard water area, assuming a 2 litre daily
consumption. By comparison, white bread
contributes 10.2% to the average daily salt
intake, bacon and ham = 8%, and breakfast
cereals = 4.9%. So to say you shouldn’t drink
softened water is the same, in these terms,
as saying you shouldn’t eat bacon, a bag of
crisps or eat white bread!
5 McCance & Widdowson on behalf of the Food Standards Agency
Q&A
In the USA there is no limit on sodium in
the National Primary or Secondary Drinking
Water Regulations.
In the new, Third Edition of the World Health
Organisation’s Guidelines on Drinking Water
Quality, 2003, there is no sodium guideline.
It only states that concentrations in excess of
200 mg/l may impart a taste.
It is the Department of Health that recom-
mended limiting sodium concentrations to
200mg/l in drinking water for babies and
those individuals on a medically-prescribed,
salt-restricted diet.

Q. I thought salt was bad for you? There are some bottled waters containing over
1700 mg/l of sodium and they are marketed
There is conjecture about the contribution of as a health related benefit!
salt to hypertension (blood pressure) and its
possible effect on health consequences. Cer-
tainly, reduced salt has been found to reduce
blood pressure, at least in the short term, in
older, hypertensive patients. Whether the
reduction in blood pressure from reduced salt
intake has reduced ultimate health outcome,
such as heart attacks, is less conclusive.
The policy of the Department of Health is 1,708ppm
Sodium
to reduce the average daily adult intake of
salt from the 9,500 mg (see above) to 6,200
mg. The Government included a mandatory
standard for sodium of 200 mg/l in the Drink-
ing Water Regulations, primarily as a measure
to help prevent infant hypernatraemia and
secondly to assist reducing the sodium intake
in the general population. 6 Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3rd November 1998 on the quality of
water intended for human consumption

This policy is not universal, however. In most

of the European Union Member States, the
national regulations have directly reflected
the European Drinking Water Directive6
which lists sodium as an indicator parameter,
which does not contribute to the definition of
wholesomeness .When the specification for an
indicator parameter is exceeded, the level of
non-compliance must be considered to deter-
mine whether there is any risk to health and
remedial action taken where appropriate.


Section 1
Q. Can I use softened water for mix-
ing baby feeds if the sodium com-
plies with the Water Regulations?
Yes you can, provided the softened water has
a sodium concentration below the maximum
of 200 mg/l for sodium, specified in the
Drinking Water Regulations. This level was
adopted to ensure that the total sodium of
the baby feed plus the water does not exceed
350 mg/l which is considered a safe level for
infants.
Q. How can I find out how much
sodium will be in my water when
softened?
The simplest route is to call the customer
services number for your water supplier. Ask
for the sodium level in the water supply and
calcium carbonate hardness. (N.B. both so-
dium and calcium carbonate hardness must be
expressed in mg/l. Divide the calcium carbon-
ate hardness level by 2.175 and add the so-
dium in the water supply.) This result should
be no more than 200 mg/l of total sodium to
comply with the Water Quality Regulations.
As a “rule of thumb” if the calcium carbonate
hardness level of the water supply is greater
than 400 mg/l, there is a higher probability
that the softened water will be close to or
above the sodium limit in the Drinking Water
Quality Regulations.
Or phone us on 01483 753401 for details of
your nearest installer who can give you local
advice.
Q. But what about the removal of
hardness?
Some epidemiological studies carried out over
the last 50 years have indicated that people
living in areas where the water supply was
naturally soft are slightly more prone to car-
diovascular disease (heart attacks) than those
living in areas with a hard water supply. When
the studies have then focused on specific
components of the water such as calcium,

the correlation disappeared. However, people
began to extend the theory from naturally soft
water to softened water and this has led to the
precautionary conclusion that it is preferable
to drink the unsoftened, hard water.
However, tests then conducted in some cities
where the water supply was softened by the
water supplier did not support the correlation.
In November 2003 the World Health Organi-
sation held a consultation on the issue of nu-
trition and drinking water, which considered
the new data on hardness and cardiovascular
disease. The group also requested advice re-
lating to home water softening devices in rela-
tion to the advisability of retaining a source of
water containing calcium and magnesium.
The World Health Organisation currently
states that “..the available data are inad-
equate to permit a conclusion that the as-
sociation is causal. No health based guide-
line value is proposed for hardness.” The
Drinking Water Regulations do not include a
specification for a minimum level of hardness.
Q. How many people drink softened
water?
Millions! During the 1920’s and 1930’s water
softeners started to be sold to home owners
and others, to improve the taste of drinking
water. In the USA there is no myth surround-
ing softened water use for drinking purposes
and over 1 million people a year have a water
softener installed. There are millions of water
softeners in everyday use in American homes
which are used for drinking water purposes. In
some parts of the US, almost everyone needs
one because of the hardness of groundwater
but millions of others are bought as a prefer-
ence item.
There has never, in over 90 years of history,
been a health related problem reported that
was associated with a water softener.
 Q&A
Q. What does softened water taste
like?

A bit bland. Most people prefer the taste of

softened water in tea and coffee. The differ-
ence in taste compared to hard water can be
quite significant.

Q. Can I have a tap supplying un-

softened water somewhere other
than at the kitchen sink?
The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regula-
tions require all premises to be supplied with
water for domestic purposes from at least
one tap conveniently situated for the draw-
ing of drinking water. It would normally be
convenient to locate this tap at the kitchen
sink. If you are content to use softened water
for domestic purposes, including drinking and
cooking purposes, you are at liberty to have
a tap supplying un-softened water installed
in a utility room or cloakroom, for example.
Alternatively, you may decide not to have one
at all.

Q. But what about the regulations?

For water to be suitable for drinking purposes
it should be wholesome and meet the require-
ments of the Water Quality Regulations. In
addition, the water fittings and pipework of
the domestic water distribution system must
comply with the requirements of the Water
Fittings Regulations. There is no legal re-
quirement, within the Water Fittings Regula-
tions, to fit a separate tap supplying un-sof-
tened water for domestic purposes. However,
the Water Fittings Regulations7 are supple-
mented by water industry recommendations
and government guidance, which include a
recommendation that, where a water softener
has been installed, a separate tap providing
unsoftened water should be installed. This
recommendation is accepted as good practice
by the water softener industry and its trade
organisation UKWTA.
7 Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999


Section 2
Scientific and Regulatory
Support Information
The World Health Organisation
The World Health Organisation (WHO)
publishes the “WHO Guidelines for Drinking-
Water Quality”. These contain health criteria
and other supporting information to give the
governments of the world the guidance and
information they need to establish regulations
to secure safe drinking water supplies.
The European Commission take the WHO
guidelines into account in the preparation
of the European Drinking Water Directive.
The UK Government and all other national
governments of the EU are required to adopt
legislation to implement the requirements of
the Directive.
The third edition of the WHO guidelines,
published in 2003, state in section 8.7.1 the
following regarding hardness and sodium:
Hardness.
“Although a number of ecological
and analytical studies have shown a
statistically significant inverse relation-
ship between the hardness of drink-
ing-water and cardiovascular disease,
the available data are inadequate to
permit a conclusion that the association
is causal. No health-based guideline
value is proposed for hardness. How-
ever the degree of hardness may affect
its acceptability to the consumer in
terms of taste and scale deposition.”

Sodium.
“Sodium salts (e.g. sodium chloride)
are found in virtually all food (the main
source of daily exposure) and drink-
ing-water. Although concentrations of
sodium in potable water are typically
less than 20mg/litre they can greatly ex-
ceed this in some countries.....It should
be noted that some water softeners can
add significantly to the content of drink-
ing water. No firm conclusions can be
drawn concerning the possible associa-
tion between sodium in drinking-water
and the occurrence of hypertension.
Therefore no health-based guideline
value is therefore proposed. However,
concentrations in excess of 200 mg/l
may give rise to unacceptable taste.”
The European Drinking Water
Directive
The EC Commission published the Council
Directive 98/83/EC on 3rd November 1998
on the quality of water intended for human
consumption. The Directive takes into account
the WHO guidelines.
• There is no parametric value for minimum
hardness.
• Sodium is included with a limit of 200 mg/l
as an Indicator Parameter in Part C.
 Scientific and Regulatory Support Information
The UK Water Quality Regulations

The UK Government published its Statutory

Instrument 2000 No. 3184 on 4th December
2000. It transposed the requirements of the
EC Directive and, in addition, introduced a
standard of 200 mg/l for sodium as part of a
number of national standards.

The Drinking Water Regulations 2000 came

into effect on 25 December 2003. The Drink-
ing Water Inspectorate has issued interim
guidance on the 2000 regulations. This guid-
ance states that, if the standard for sodium is
breached in a sample taken from a consumer’s
tap in domestic premises, the water company
will investigate to determine the cause of the
breach. If the cause of the breach is the use
of a softener within the premises, the water
company must notify the consumer of the
failure, the cause and any actions which may
be desirable for the consumers to take in the
interests of their health. This could include the
advice from the Department of Health.


Section 3
Advice from the
Concern about the suitability of softened wa-
Government and ter is not restricted to sodium concentrations
Regulatory Advisors. from salt-regenerated ion-exchange water
softeners. There is also concern that the well-
Department of Health documented but unexplained epidemiological
This is the advice received from the Depart- relationship between naturally soft water and
ment of Health. mortality from cardiovascular disease may
apply also to artificially softened water. Fur-
The reasons for limiting sodium concentra- ther information on this aspect may be found
tions in water supplies are: in Department of Health Report on Health
and Social Subjects 46 “Nutritional Aspects of
(a) concentrations greater than about Cardiovascular Disease (1994, HMSO) paras
200mg/l may give rise to an 6.9.1.1-2.
unacceptable taste;
Other concerns about water softeners are:
(b) the kidneys of young babies (especially plumbosolvency; and the potential for mi-
premature babies) are inefficient at crobial contamination if the softener is not
excreting sodium, so that too much adequately maintained.
sodium in the feed may produce the
condition of infantile hypernatraemia. Water Regulations Advisory Scheme
For this reason, it is recommended that The Regulations that govern the requirements
the sodium concentration of for the installation of water fittings, including
reconstituted infant feed should not softeners, are contained in the Water Supply
exceed 350mg/l (there should be an (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 for England
adequate safety margin in this limit). and Wales and the Water Byelaws 2000 for
If the water used to reconstitute the feed Scotland. They can be read from the website
contains 200mg/l or more, the
recommended limit is likely to be
exceeded;
www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1999/19991148.
htm.
(c) sometimes, patients are put on strict
salt-restricted diets (although, The Water Regulations Advisory Scheme
nowadays, drug treatments usually (WRAS) has published a book – the Wa-
make such diets unnecessary). At water ter Regulations Guide. The WRAS Guide
concentrations of about 200mg includes the text from the Regulations, gives
sodium/litre, it is difficult or impossible “guidance” from the Department of Envi-
to construct such diets. ronment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
and “recommendations” from the WRAS
Another consideration is that sodium (mostly representing the water suppliers, on the
as common salt, sodium chloride) is consid- interpretation of, and how to comply with, the
ered to be a risk factor in high blood pressure Regulations.
and its consequences (such as hypertensive
heart disease) and therefore reductions in The Fittings Regulations, themselves, do not
dietary salt intake in the general population make any reference to softened water provi-
are recommended. However, water which is sions. Regulations 26 and 27 require “...at
not obviously salty to the taste will least one tap conveniently situated...supplied
contribute only a small fraction of the average with water...from a supply pipe.” In the Water
daily dietary intake. Fittings Guide, DEFRA guidance note G27.3


 Advice from the Government and Regulatory Advisors.
states that “water that has been softened on
site should only be used for drinking pur-
poses when the treated water is wholesome.”
The only parameter at risk of not meeting
the standard of the Drinking Water Regula-
tions would be sodium and then, as already
mentioned, only for those areas with high-
hardness-level supplies. Guidance note G6.1b
identifies domestic softened water as fluid
category 2 which is defined in Schedule 1 of
the Regulations “...category 1 whose aesthetic
quality is impaired ....” (see Backflow preven-
tion above).
The Water Supply Industry recommendations
(R26.2) include
Recommendation R27.3 states that chemi-
cal composition change due to softening
may result in non-compliance with “whole-
some” water and that improper operation and
maintenance may affect quality such that the
Drinking Water Regulations are contravened,
and it then recommends that only unsoftened
water is used for drinking purposes.
The rationale for this recommendation is not
explained but the only parameter that could
be exceeded as a consequence of softening is
sodium and this would not be adversely af-
fected by operation and maintenance - but by
influent hardness level.

“where drinking water is required in premises

which use a water softener, an unsoftened
drinking water supply tap should be pro-
vided”.

Conclusion
Confused? Most people are. Whilst there is no evidence to suggest that drinking softened water
is detrimental to health, there is a suspicion that drinking hard water may provide a health
benefit to some people. Why that is, nobody knows. You have the choice of drinking softened
water or having a separate hard water drinking tap.

Benefits of drinking softened water.

Some people prefer the taste, especially in beverages and cordials. You get no scale in the kettle.
The softener acts a another filter and removes all positive ions such as aluminium and lead. It
does not, however, remove flouride.

Benefits of drinking hard water.

There may be a health benefit; some people prefer the taste.


Section 4

Installation of a Hard Water Drinking Tap

Separate
Hard Water
Drinking Tap

Hard Water
Connection

Installing a separate hard water tap can be car- A typical installation will look like the
ried out at the same time as installing a water diagram above. Note the connection prior to
softener, or retrofitted at a later date. the rising main and the use of small diameter
plastic tubing.
In houses where the rising main comes up
under the kitchen sink the installation is In many houses, approximately 60%, the
relatively straight- rising main comes up somewhere other than
forward. Whilst it is under the kitchen sink. These installations
possible to convert require more pipework and the diagrams op-
the existing cold tap posite show the various options.
to supply unsoftened
drinking water, it is As an alternative,
generally preferred to the existing kitchen
install a separate tap. sink tap can be changed to
These are usually of a three way version: hot, cold
the “spring faucet” and hard.
type.

10
 Hard Water Drinking Tap Installation Guide
Option 1. 15mm pipework to feed drinking
tap and outside tap
Option 2. 3/8” for normal installations.
1⁄4” if you want the pipework to be less
obtrusive, provided there is sufficient pressure
of at least 3 bar.
Option 3. 3mm if you want the pipework to
disappear.
The use of 3mm pipework requires the ad-
dition of a small accumulator tank under
the sink to provide up to 4 litres of water
instantly. The tank then refills in about ten
minutes ready for the next draw off of drink-
ing water. The 3mm pipework can be run over
any distance.
Option 4. Sometimes it is not convenient to
fit a separate tap at the kitchen sink and in
these circumstances a tap providing hard wa-
ter can be installed in an alternative position.
A mounting bracket can enable the tap to be
installed in a cloakroom beside a wash basin.
The spout can be swivelled to aid the filling of
kettles etc.
Contact your local water softener dealer for
further advice re installation. In case of dif-
ficulty contact Softener Supplies on
01483 753 401.

OPTION 1.
15mm pipework to feed
drinking tap and outside tap.

Storage
Tank

Outside
Tap
Hard

Pipework run in 15mm copper or plastic

Main

Where the outside garden tap is situated behind the kitchen sink and both are at the opposite
end of the house from where the rising main enters, it is sometimes possible to run a 15mm pipe
from the position of the water softener through to the kitchen sink. This can feed the new drink-
ing tap and the outside garden tap.

11
 Section 4
OPTION 2.
3/8” or 1/4” plastic drinking water line.

Storage
Tank

New
Outside
Outside
Tap
Tap
(Hard)
(Soft)

Pipework run in 3/8” or 1/4” plastic drinking

Main
water line.

Often it is not practical to run a 15mm pipe from the point of entry to the kitchen sink, so the
best option is to run a small 3/8” white plastic pipe instead. This is sufficient for a separate
drinking tap.

The existing outside garden tap can be left on softened and if possible a new one fitted near the
point of entry connected to the hard supply before the softener.

Where there is sufficient pressure, over 4 bar, and the run is not too long, then 1/4” drinking line
can be used.

Bypassing the softener whilst watering the lawn.

If the existing outside garden tap is connected to the softened supply, then the water softener
can be bypassed whilst watering the lawn. Just close the inlet, or outlet, or both, and open the
bypass valve. Remember to reverse this when finished.

12
 Hard Water Drinking Tap Installation Guide
OPTION 3.
3mm plastic drinking water line.

Storage
Tank

New
Outside
Outside
Tap
Tap
(Hard)
(Soft)

Pipework run in 3mm plastic drinking

Main water line to accumulator tank.

If the pipe run from the point of entry to the

kitchen sink is difficult, then the separate hard
water supply can be run in 3mm drinking
water line which is very small indeed. It can
be tucked under carpets, behind coving and
generally made to disappear.

Due to the low flow rate, an accumulator

tank must be installed under the kitchen sink.
These contain 4 litres of hard water readily
available instantly, so you can fill your kettle
and within about ten minutes the tank is full
again.

13
Section 4
OPTION 4.
Separate hard water drinking tap at a
different location.

Storage
Tank

Sink

Main

Sometimes it is not practical to run a separate

pipe to the kitchen sink. As an alternative,
a separate hard water drinking tap can be
installed at a utility sink or wash basin.

A bracket is available to
mount a drinking tap beside
a wash basin. The supply
is best run in 3/8” drinking
water line or 1/4” if there is
sufficient pressure.

Faucet Bracket There is no regulatory requirement for a

drinking water tap to be fitted at the kitchen
sink. It may be installed at any convenient
position.

14
 Hard Water Drinking Tap Installation Products
Available Products
Products are available to make the installation of a separate hard water drinking tap easy and
inconspicuous.

Standard Faucet Extended Faucet

Our faucets are the lever operated type. The This is a longer reach version of the standard
lever can be held down for a short burst or faucet. Both types are available in silver,
lifted up to run continuously. white, chocolate, gold and cream.

Three Way Taps

This tap works as a normal hot and cold mixer but has an additional tap at the bottom for drink-
ing water. Available in chrome, white, antique gold and seventies throwback.

Drinking water tubing Accessories

Available in 3/8”, 1/4” and 3mm diameters. Accumulator tanks, saddle valves, brackets,
taps, drinking water line etc.

For your nearest installer contact Softener Supplies on 01483 753 401.

15
Hello, I’m Harvey.
Thank you for taking an interest in
softened drinking water.

We have published this booklet to help

clarify the position regarding the issue of
separate hard water drinking taps when
installing a domestic water softener.

We have been selling and installing

water softeners for nearly 30 years
and during that time opinions have shifted and new knowledge has
been gained. Although we may be considered biased, this booklet is a
determined effort to include the opinions of all relevant bodies.

During the research and drafting, consultations have taken place with the
following:

World Health Organisation (WHO).

Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Department of Health (DOH).
Water Research Advisory Scheme (WRAS).

Reference is made to the following:

WHO Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality;

The EC Commission Council Directive 98/83/EC 3rd November 1998

on the quality of water intended for human consumption;

The UK Statutory Instrument 2000 No. 3184 dated 4th December

2000;

UK Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999.

We hope you find this booklet informative.

Harvey Bowden (Chairman)

Harvey Softeners Ltd. © 2005
(L458 12/05)