Water wars

Do you remember when the only time you needed to drink bottled water was when you went on holiday to remote destinations?  For my delicate digestive system that tended to mean anywhere outside of the UK for many years, but never in my home town of London.  These days you can't even order a glass of tap water in a bar without being offered the "mineral water menu".

In 2007 London's tap water was rated the best in Britain by scientists and in various taste tests has often come out tops over well known bottled brands such as Evian. Globally we consume 200bn litres of bottled water every year, requiring more than 200m barrels of oil to produce, package and distribute. The global bottled water market valuation grew by 7% in 2006 to reach a value of $60,938.1 million - and yet this is a product that flows freely from our taps.

We don't live in a third world country - our water is 100% drinkable.  Admittedly it doesn't always taste delicious - in many places it's chalky and gritty - something water companies put down to aged pipes which they're trying to replace - but that's nothing a water filter can't rectify.

I'm sceptical as to whether London's mayor, the windswept Boris Johnson, will actually live up to his promises, but I admire his intention to introduce more public water fountains in parks and public spaces across London to help deter people from buying plastic bottles.

The Evening Standard has also launched a "Water On Tap campaign" which aims to get London's bars and restaurants to offer tap water to customers as a matter of course, rather than environmentally unfriendly bottled water. Thousands of businesses have signed up to the scheme, including Antony Worrall Thompson's restaurants, Jamie Oliver's Fifteen and Aldo Zilli's Zilli Fish.

Let's get back to basics and make the most of our safe, disease free water - and for those of you who need a bit of fizz in your H2o - buy a soda stream.