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Highland Spring
Highland Spring from Ochil Hills, Blackford, Perthshire — 35 mg calcium, 8.5 mg magnesium, 6 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
Highland Spring is drawn from an organically certified catchment in the Ochil Hills, where the land above the aquifer is farmed under restrictions designed to keep nitrate and pesticide out of the recharge. The chemistry is a soft, low-mineral upland water: calcium in the thirties, sodium in single figures, nothing that dominates the taste. It is the standard British example of a water chosen for what it does not contain.
Source: Ochil Hills, Blackford, Perthshire · 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 | 35 | 3.7% of the 950 mg calcium reference |
| Magnesium | 8.5 | 2.4% of the 350 mg magnesium adequate intake |
| Sodium | 6 | 0.3% of the 2.0 g sodium intake · 0.015 g as salt |
| Potassium | 0.6 | |
| Bicarbonate | 136 | |
| Sulphate | 6 | |
| Chloride | 7.5 | |
| Dry residue, estimated here | 130.5 | estimated from the ion list; not a legal figure |
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 Highland Spring the arithmetic runs 35 ÷ 40.08 + 8.5 ÷ 24.31 = 1.22 mmol per litre.
| Unit | Value | Where you meet it |
|---|---|---|
| Millimoles per litre | 1.22 | the chemistry, and the German consumer bands |
| German degrees °dH | 6.9 | dishwasher and washing-machine settings in the Nordics and Baltics |
| French degrees °fH | 12.2 | French and Belgian labelling |
| mg per litre as CaCO₃ | 122.4 | the international classification and most water-utility reports |
That places it at hard on the classification used in the international drinking-water literature, and weich (soft) 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 | no published figure |
| “Low mineral content” | not above 500 mg/l dry residue | no published figure |
| “Rich in mineral salts” | above 1 500 mg/l dry residue | no published figure |
| “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 | 35 mg | 3.7% of the 950 mg EFSA reference intake |
| Magnesium | 8.5 mg | 2.4% of the 350 mg adequate intake for men |
| Sodium | 6 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 Highland Spring?
Highland Spring is still from Ochil Hills, Blackford, Perthshire, natural mineral water. The published analysis is 35 mg calcium, 8.5 mg magnesium, 6 mg sodium per litre.
Is Highland Spring hard water?
Calcium and magnesium together come to 1.22 mmol per litre, which is 6.9 °dH or about 122.4 mg per litre as calcium carbonate — hard on the international scale and weich (soft) on the German one.
Is Highland Spring suitable for a low-sodium diet?
On the EU criterion, yes: sodium is 6 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 Highland Spring have?
8.5 mg per litre, which is about 2.4% of the EFSA adequate intake of 350 mg a day for adult men and 2.8% 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
Volvic
France · Still
Acqua Panna
Italy · Still
Voss
Norway · Still
Fiji Water
Fiji · 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.