Throughout the world, there are three main classifications of bottled water recognized; natural mineral water, spring water and table water. Depending upon the country where the water is produced and the intended country of consumption, regulations apply to the production techniques used for each type of bottled water. For example in Europe please see Directive 2009/54/EC, for American standards see IBWA.

These regulations influence the levels of treatment which are permitted to produce each product, so care must be taken to understand the restrictions of each individual plant when proposing filtration solutions. It is essential that the bottled water must be safe to drink, so it must be free from pathogenic organisms such as