Britain as a country is not a place where water is scarce. Our maritime temperate climate sees to it that droughts are very rare, and with leaks reasonably uncommon (except in winter) and reservoirs around the country being supplemented by various aquifers (water-bearing rocks) in southern England, this is not likely to be a problem of climate change.

Add to that first-world infrastructure and the fact that anyone can turn on the tap and get water anytime, and it seems all is well. It’s certainly true that Britons are better off than people in many other countries.

However, just because Britain’s water situation is comparatively good does not mean it is as it should be. There are often problems with UK tap water, and that doesn’t just mean some areas having ‘hard’ water.

Common issues include the addition of fluoride - which some people are sensitive to, chlorine, water having a bad taste and discolouration. This is why many people like to have home water purification systems installed.

Discolouration is often caused by pollution, either at source or because of problems with the pipes along the way. If these are your own home’s pipes you can do something about it, but the issue may be miles away.

Sometimes discolouration can be resolved by running the taps and flushing out an isolated problem, but if it is more serious then the issue will remain, and this can have all sorts of issues. Apart from the question of your drinking water, it could also stain clothes if used for washing.

While Britain’s water remains strongly regulated and regularly tested, it is inevitable that sometimes things go wrong and not everyone will get perfectly pure stuff through the taps all the time. That is why a domestic water filter is favoured by so many people.