You often would have bought bottled water to quench your thirst while on a journey and called it mineral water. People quite easily use of words mineral water and packaged drinking water in synonymous sense. However, you would be taken aback to know there is a huge difference between the two. The Mineral Water Plant differs from that of Packaged Drinking Water and we are here describe you how.
The Basic Distinction
The Sources: Mineral Water is obtained from mineral springs or underground water currents. It goes through quality tests and in the process if found alright, is ozonised. Then 
they are passed through UV radiations and sold in bottles. On the other hand, packaged drinking water is collected from various water sources like municipal supply, wells, etc., treated through various stages like filtration, ozone or UV treatment, Reverse Osmosis (RO) etc. before being bottled for use.
The Cost: The mineral water is quite costly than the other ones, due their transport cost and exclusiveness, i.e., they are fit to be consumable in almost original forms.The therapeutic benefits of spring water also give it a special value. The very factor of inferiority of raw materials makes the packaged drinking water non-exclusive in comparison to the former category. Also, since the procurement is easy, the cost of transportation is also less and so are the MRPs.
The Detailed Plant Processes
Mineral Water Plant: The raw mineral water for purification is passed through filters of Sand and Activated Carbon. Then comes the process of softening water after which sparkling water is obtained through passing it in micron filters. Then the bacteria in water are removed via UV radiation treatment. Thereafter water is packed after rinsing and cleaning of bottles. This is all about the operations in a mineral water plant.
Packaged Drinking Water Plant:Now moving on to the packaged drinking water plant, 
we have a whole lot of complicated procedures to watch out for. It is becausethe water obtained from ubiquitous sources is not of good quality. The raw water obtained from municipal sources are stored in water tanks and processed through sand and carbon filtration consecutively. After Pretreatment, it is demineralised by removing the total dissolved solids (TDS). The water storage and monitoring takes place next, post which, the reconstruction of TDS through “Remineralisation” system is ensured.
The furtherset of procedures, involved after addition of essential minerals or salts, are the microfiltration and ultraviolet light disinfection and ozone disinfection respectively. For convertingthe water into drinkable format, making it free from harmful infectious microorganisms is highly essential, which is achieved through the latter methods. Then the product is transferred on to the packaging control department, where they are packed in bottles, pouches, glasses with foil sealing, and barrels for final consumption.
The Market: The market of mineral water is connected with tourism. Although springs were used for water consumption by local people, long back before packaged water industry came into being, its wide access was inspired by western lifestyle. Luxury hotels, restaurants are generally the places where they are sold. The higher cost also influences the market pattern of these products. The Packaged Drinking Water, on the contrary, is available quite easily in shops and eateries across various towns. They are cheaper and hence manufactured and sold in greater quantity and by many brands.