Mineral waters in Italy: quantity and quality aspects

The availability, the distribution and the hydrochemical characteristics of the Italian mineral water are here summarized. The available data indicate that Italy is the largest consumer of mineral water in the world, with a value of 186 l/year/per capita and a total volume of 12.35 million of cubic meters/year, with a preference for waters with low mineralization. Were surveyed 260 mineral bottled waters with 431 different labels; currently in Piedmont, Tuscany and Lombardy has the largest number of bottled waters. Italian and EU regulations require partial differences in the quality between mineral and spring waters and drinking water. The quality of mineral waters depends on the differences of the big five hydrogeological complexes of the Italian territory in which groundwater moves and acquire different chemical characteristics: the predominant type is Ca-HCO3 waters. The comparison between the quality of Italian and European waters was done based on specific parameters (electrical conductivity, Sodium, nitrates and Arsenic). The protection of natural mineral waters must also be ensured by the delimitation of areas of sources protection.