Drinking water typically does not provide significant quantities of any essential minerals. For example, the USGS threshold for "hard" water (heavily mineral-l

Drinking water typically does not provide significant quantities of any essential minerals. For example, the USGS threshold for "hard" water (heavily mineral-laden) is 120 ppm of combined calcium and magnesium carbonates. At that level, drinking the recommended two liters a day would only give you a few percentage points of your required daily intake of elemental calcium and magnesium.