The Lifecycle of Water: From Cloud to Cup

We often call water the universal solvent—it goes into everything we drink, in one way or another. But there's a lot more to water than meets the eye.

From the cloud to our cup, water goes on a long journey to make it to our homes. Some steps in that cycle are great, but some aren't. It's time to break down the water cycle to see how water vapour makes the journey all the way to our taps. And, more importantly, it's time to consider how that water is being affected on its journey and where water purification occurs.

The regular lifecycle of water

The water cycle that a lot of us learnt as children is still accurate. Water in the earth and in the ocean goes through evaporation to become water vapour. Then condensation makes the water vapour condense into clouds. Then precipitation occurs, and the water rains back down to Earth's surface. Infiltration occurs, and the water soaks into the soil. Then it evaporates and the water cycle continues.

Throughout this process, the water is interacting with a range of different environmental factors. Different chemicals and contaminants in the environment mean that the hydrologic cycle also picks up some impurities.

Water interacts with a number of things and picks up all kinds of elements. CO2 in the atmosphere, limestone in the soil, and more. This affects the water’s hardness—how much dissolved calcium and magnesium are present. The pH of the water can change too as it becomes saturated with dissolved ions.

Water experts refer to the “lime-carbonic acid equilibrium”. This is the balance of lime and carbonic acid in the water. Lime raises the pH and carbonic acid lowers it. Water needs a stable equilibrium to be safe and healthy to drink. To ensure healthy drinking water in Australia, water undergoes water purification and filtration water treatment.

The water cycle

Water quality changes on its way to you

All public drinking water in Australia and New Zealand goes through treatments to filter out unhealthy elements. But the water cycle doesn't end there. As water moves through pipes to get to you, it can still be affected by its environment.

As the water goes makes its way to your home or business, it can pick up things like rust or other heavy metals along the journey, these they can affect the quality and the taste of the water.

When making hot drinks like coffee or tea, the quality of water becomes even more important. Some of the minerals present in unfiltered water can change as we heat the water. As these minerals get hotter, they can alter the pH level and disrupt the lime-carbonic acid equilibrium. This can lead to less healthy water as well as faster limescale build-up in your appliances.

Using a water filter for better water quality

The most reliable way to get the best drinking water is with a water filter or filtration system. A water filter will filter out the minerals you don't want, while keeping in the good minerals you do want. Water filtration keeps in the good things like fluoride and other healthy minerals throughout the filtration. A good Professional water filter system will reduce minerals to an optimum level for the environment.

The taste of water extends into every drink you make at home. Remember, everything we drink is made up of water in some way or another, so we want our tap water to be the best it can be, straight from the tap. Deionisation filtering and alkaline water filters and cartridges can even make your coffee and tea taste better too.

Water Filtration Methods

If you decide to take the quality of your water into your own hands, you have options to choose from. See our products here or contact our friendly BRITA Professional Customer Service team today.

The Lifecycle of Water

The regular lifecycle of water

Water quality changes on its way to you

Using a water filter for better water quality

Water Filtration Methods

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