Why is pH important in drinking water?

1 Answer
Apr 10, 2014

The pH of drinking water theoretically should be at 7.

We know that anything with a pH of under 7 is acidic and above 7 is basic; therefore, 7 would be the neutral level.

#0_(acidic)- 7 - 14_(basic)#

However, this is not the case because on average drinking water has a pH of around 6 to 8.5. This is due to different dissolved minerals and gases in the water itself.

Consequently, water with a more acidic pH would taste metallic and with a more basic pH would taste alkali.

To understand why water has a neutral pH one can observe the structure:

#H^+ + OH^-##-> H_2O#

Therefore the #H^+# ions and #OH^-# cancel each others' effects leaving a pure water with a neutral pH of 7!