Everywhere in the world, water is used as a resource. It can –amongst others- be used for irrigation, bathing, and drinking. In this paper I will focus on water used for the purpose of drinking. I will pay special attention to the ways in which the quality of drinking water has been determined over time and across various cultures. Defining the quality of drinking water is not a straightforward scientific practice. In different periods and cultures the use of various types of science and technology have differed greatly. The fascinating work A Science of Impurity – Water Analysis in Nineteenth Century Britain (1990) by Christopher Hamlin that discusses the ways in which quality was defined and contested in the nineteenth century plays an important role in my story. After an exploration of the engagements with water quality, I will continue the historical line to water quality in the West today, especially in England.
I will argue that drinking water quality can still be a contested issue. Arguments for good drinking water quality do not only depend on scientific arguments. Images of purity and nature are also used to convince people of the quality of the water. This is especially true for ways in which bottled water is advertised.
In determining the quality of water, water quality standards play an increasing role in the West. The most substantial part of my paper will discuss the role of these drinking water quality standards. I will pay attention to the rise of these quality standards. The rise of standardisation has been explained by Theodore Porter in Trust in Numbers as a response to increasing bureaucracy and decreasing trust in experts, but has been explained differently by others. In the paper I will seek to explore the following questions with regard to drinking water quality standards: What happens with these standards in individual water companies when they have to operate in an environment of reservoirs, treatments plants, laboratories and pipelines? How do the standards, the water quality, and the material environment interrelate?