n Suitable for drinking Water is said to be potable; indeed, some declare it our natural beverage, although even they find it palatable only when suffering from the recurrent disorder known as thirst, for which it is a medicine Upon nothing has so great and diligent ingenuity been brought to bear in all ages and in all countries, except the most uncivilized, as upon the invention of substitutes for water To hold that this general aversion to that liquid has no basis in the preservative instinct of the race is to be unscientific -- and without science we are as the snakes and toads
Water of a quality suitable for drinking Most waters of the BWCA are potable - you just can't tell by looking, hence filters and water purification tablets
Water that is free from disease-producing organisms, poisonous substances, chemical, biological, and radioactive contaminants which would make it unfit for human consumption and many other uses
Describes water that may contain objectionable pollution, contamination, minerals, or infective agents and is considered unsafe or unsuitable for drinking Compare potable