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evian
evian from Cachat spring, Evian-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie — 80 mg calcium, 26 mg magnesium, 6.5 mg sodium per litre. Hardness, what a litre contributes against the EFSA reference intakes, and the EU label claims the analysis supports.
Where it comes from
evian rises on the French shore of Lake Geneva after filtering for years through the glacial sands of the Vallee d'Abondance, and the same short list of numbers has appeared on its label for decades. The profile is calcium-magnesium bicarbonate: enough hardness to sit in the hard band on the international scale, almost no sodium, and so little sulphate and chloride that there is nothing to taste. That combination is why it is the water most often used as a neutral reference point when people compare bottles.
Source: Cachat spring, Evian-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie · Category: Natural mineral water · Carbonation: Still
This is a reference table, not a diagnosis and not a prescription. If a clinician has put you on a sodium, calcium, potassium or fluid restriction, that number comes from them and overrides anything here. Analyses are revised as sources are re-tested, so the label on the bottle you are holding always outranks this page.
The published analysis
| Constituent | mg per litre | What a litre of it means |
|---|---|---|
| Calcium | 80 | 8.4% of the 950 mg calcium reference |
| Magnesium | 26 | 7.4% of the 350 mg magnesium adequate intake |
| Sodium | 6.5 | 0.3% of the 2.0 g sodium intake · 0.017 g as salt |
| Potassium | 1 | |
| Bicarbonate | 360 | |
| Sulphate | 14 | |
| Chloride | 10 | |
| Nitrate | 3.8 | drinking-water parametric value is 50 mg/l |
| Silica | 15 | no European reference intake exists for silica |
| Dry residue at 180 °C | 345 | the figure EU law uses for the mineral-content claims |
How hard it is
Hardness is nothing but the calcium and magnesium already in the table above, re-expressed as though all of it were calcium carbonate. For evian the arithmetic runs 80 ÷ 40.08 + 26 ÷ 24.31 = 3.07 mmol per litre.
| Unit | Value | Where you meet it |
|---|---|---|
| Millimoles per litre | 3.07 | the chemistry, and the German consumer bands |
| German degrees °dH | 17.2 | dishwasher and washing-machine settings in the Nordics and Baltics |
| French degrees °fH | 30.7 | French and Belgian labelling |
| mg per litre as CaCO₃ | 306.9 | the international classification and most water-utility reports |
That places it at very hard on the classification used in the international drinking-water literature, and hart (hard) on the three-band German scale printed on detergent packets. Hardness has no health-based guideline value; what it changes is limescale, soap and the taste. More on hardness.
What EU labelling law lets this water claim
Annex III of Directive 2009/54/EC fixes exactly which indications a natural mineral water may print and the figure each one requires. Applying those rules to the analysis above:
| Indication | Criterion | This water |
|---|---|---|
| “Very low mineral content” | not above 50 mg/l dry residue | does not qualify |
| “Low mineral content” | not above 500 mg/l dry residue | qualifies |
| “Rich in mineral salts” | above 1 500 mg/l dry residue | does not qualify |
| “Contains bicarbonate” | above 600 mg/l bicarbonate | does not qualify |
| “Contains sulphate” | above 200 mg/l sulphate | does not qualify |
| “Contains chloride” | above 200 mg/l chloride | does not qualify |
| “Contains calcium” | above 150 mg/l calcium | does not qualify |
| “Contains magnesium” | above 50 mg/l magnesium | does not qualify |
| “Contains fluoride” | above 1 mg/l fluoride | no published figure |
| “Contains sodium” | above 200 mg/l sodium | does not qualify |
| “Suitable for a low-sodium diet” | below 20 mg/l sodium | qualifies |
A litre against a day
| Nutrient | Per litre | Share of an adult day |
|---|---|---|
| Calcium | 80 mg | 8.4% of the 950 mg EFSA reference intake |
| Magnesium | 26 mg | 7.4% of the 350 mg adequate intake for men |
| Sodium | 6.5 mg | 0.3% of the 2.0 g safe and adequate intake |
The sodium contribution is small enough to disappear into the noise of an ordinary diet, where bread and cheese do the real work. Which is the general rule for bottled water and sodium — the exceptions are the sodium-bicarbonate waters, and they announce themselves on the label.
Analyses: the figures each producer publishes on the label or in its technical sheet — see the basis line on every water page. Reference intakes: EFSA Dietary Reference Values. Label claims: Directive 2009/54/EC, Annex III. Mineral-water constituent limits and the fluoride labelling rule: Directive 2003/40/EC. Tap-water parametric values: Directive (EU) 2020/2184. Checked 2026-09-06.
Frequently asked questions
What is in evian?
evian is still from Cachat spring, Evian-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie, natural mineral water. The published analysis is 80 mg calcium, 26 mg magnesium, 6.5 mg sodium per litre.
Is evian hard water?
Calcium and magnesium together come to 3.07 mmol per litre, which is 17.2 °dH or about 306.9 mg per litre as calcium carbonate — very hard on the international scale and hart (hard) on the German one.
Is evian suitable for a low-sodium diet?
On the EU criterion, yes: sodium is 6.5 mg per litre, below the 20 mg per litre line that allows the claim "suitable for a low-sodium diet". A litre is about 0.3% of the 2.0 g safe and adequate sodium intake. A medically prescribed restriction is still your clinician's number, not a label's.
How much magnesium does evian have?
26 mg per litre, which is about 7.4% of the EFSA adequate intake of 350 mg a day for adult men and 8.7% of the 300 mg figure for women. EU labelling allows a "contains magnesium" claim above 50 mg per litre.
Waters with a similar mineral load
Buxton
England · Still
Fiji Water
Fiji · Still
Perrier
France · Fortified with gas from the spring
Acqua Panna
Italy · Still
All waters compared
The full table, grouped by mineral content.
Water hardness explained
Degrees, millimoles and parts per million, converted.
Know what you drank, not just what you bought
TempoLife logs hydration alongside food and sleep, so the litre you actually drank is in the same picture as everything else.