There's a letter in this month's Running Fitness magazine from a reader who lives in the Malverns, and who says she's lucky because, when she runs, she can refill her water bottle from natural springs.
Would anyone here drink spring water around where they live?
There was a soft drinks factory (very small, family owned) in my town up till a few years ago and they used water from a spring on their land to make the drinks with. They were delicious and far superior to any other fizzy drinks I've tasted. They sold the business to another company but not the spring and things just didn't taste the same and they soon closed. They are sorely missed - it was the taste of all our childhood summers :(
When I worked in the brewery, they had their own artesian wells in the grounds, which they used for brewing the beer.
If you collect water from a spring, jj, it's fresh from the soil, so it should be OK unless the ground around is polluted. The dead sheep will be much further downstream.
I used to drink from a spring water tap when I was young. It was lovely and cold and tasted different from ordinary water. Didn't do me any harm and I am still here at 84. I also remember drinking from some which was rushing into the river Avon where we used to play. Wouldn't do it now though!