Definitions of drinking water

According to Standardisation and Metrology Organisation for the GCC (GSMO) & Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

Spring water – is derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth.
Spring water is collected only at the spring or through a bore hole tapping the underground formation feeding the spring. There shall be a natural force causing the water to flow to the surface through a natural orifice. The location of the spring shall be identifiable.

Bottled drinking water – is treated drinking water intended for human consumption and bottled in suitable tightly sealed containers and complying with all requirements of GSMO. Drinking water may be sodium-free or contain very low amounts of sodium.

Treated drinking water – has passed through treatment process depending on the contamination degree of its resources, in order to protect the customer from all detriment to health. Such processes include water gathering and initial purification, precipitation, filtration and final purification processes.

Bottled natural mineral water – is clearly distinguishable from ordinary drinking water by its content of certain mineral salts in their relative proportions. It is obtained directly from natural or drilled sources from underground water-bearing strata … It is collected under conditions which guarantee the original microbiological purity and chemical compositions of essential components.

According to the FDA, mineral water should contain not less than 250 parts per million TDS to be labelled as mineral water, but in UAE legislation no such minimum TDS is required.

Well water – is water from a hole bored, drilled, or otherwise constricted in the ground which taps the water of an aquifer (a water-bearing underground layer of rock or sand).

Purified water - has all minerals and other solids removed. It can also be called distilled water, deionized water or reverse osmosis water depending on the removal process.