Tap water helps save money

Tap water helps save money

Fresh tap water is the healthiest and most affordable drink of all. Those who care about their health, the environment, and their wallet will give up frequent consumption of bottled drinks.

Clean drinking water is as important for health as exercise, fresh air, a balanced diet and a good night's sleep. According to national recommendations from the Estonian Institute for Health Development, the average adult woman should drink 2 litres of liquid per day, while the average adult man should drink 2.5 litres.

Given that a litre of bottled water costs around one euro, the recommended amount of water with deposit packaging would cost about 800–1,000 euros per person per year. The cost would be even higher if juices, lemonades and other drinks were included. It is also worth mentioning that in Estonia, more than 300 million drink bottles are returned as deposit packaging each year.

Buying bottled water supports plastic production

In addition to the high price, drinking bottled water also has a large environmental footprint. According to Natural Society, producing a 0.5-litre plastic bottle requires the same amount of energy as producing 1,000 litres of tap water.

Food Print, an organisation dedicated to researching food production practices, has found that producing one plastic bottle requires about 5.3 litres of water. Producing one litre of tap water generates 173 grams less CO2 than producing the same amount of bottled water. In addition to water, it also takes approximately 0.25 litres of oil to produce a single plastic bottle. Consuming drinking water directly from the tap or a refillable bottle is one of the simplest ways to reduce the environmental impact of your consumption.

Two lakefuls of water per year

Estonian water consumers use water more sparingly than the European average. According to the Environment Agency, 44.17 million cubic metres of water were used for domestic purposes in Estonia in 2023. This is almost the same amount as in lakes Ülemiste and Pühajärv put together.

Our statistics show that the average Estonian resident used 95 litres of water per day in 2024 for domestic purposes, which is significantly less than the average EU citizen, who used 144 litres per day.

What does water contain?

Like mineral water, tap water also contains natural minerals such as calcium and magnesium, which support the health of bones and muscles.

If bottled water sits in the supply chain or on store shelves for too long, the drink may also contain microplastics and compounds from stagnant water that are harmful to health. With tap water, however, you can be sure that it is always fresh. Treated tap water undergoes strict quality controls to ensure it is clean and safe to drink before it reaches consumers.

A survey conducted among our consumers showed that public trust in tap water is very high – 89% of respondents said they trust tap water and enjoy drinking it.