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AbstractThe drinking water supply in the Barcelona region has recently experienced a radical change because three new facilities with membrane technology have come into service (i.e. reverse osmosis and electrodialysis reversal in the Llobregat river and a sea water reverse osmosis desalination plant. The aim of the study was to predict the reaction of consumers to changes when blends between desalinated and conventionally treated sources were supplied. Seven blended samples of membrane and conventionally treated waters and three unblended water samples were assessed using ranking, scoring and triangle tests. Trained and untrained panels were used for taste assessment. The number of available tasters for each session was 13–14 trained tasters and between 22 and 32 volunteers. Therefore, the total number of tasters ranged between 36 and 46. Ranking and scoring results from both panels were similar (i.e. no significant difference in an independent t-Test), even though the trained panel displayed a better sensitivity in the triangle test. Water preference scores ranged from 3.6 to 6.5. Multiple comparison procedures (i.e. Fischer’s Least Significant Difference Test) on global normalised liking results allowed us to define a grouping structure for water samples that were significantly different from the others. It was determined that membranes would contribute positively to consumer perception. For the relationship between the salinity represented by the total dissolved solids (TDS) and water preference, the overall trend indicated that water with lower salinity was preferred. These results confirm that the assessment of water is primarily driven by TDS even though other factors (i.e. pH, mineral composition) can play a significant role in the liking of water, which is consistent with previously published reports.

The drinking water supply in the Barcelona region has recently experienced a radical change because three new facilities with membrane technology have come into service (i.e. reverse osmosis and electrodialysis reversal in the Llobregat river and a sea water reverse osmosis desalination plant. The aim of the study was to predict the reaction of consumers to changes when blends between desalinated and conventionally treated sources were supplied. Seven blended samples of membrane and conventionally treated waters and three unblended water samples were assessed using ranking, scoring and triangle tests. Trained and untrained panels were used for taste assessment. The number of available tasters for each session was 13–14 trained tasters and between 22 and 32 volunteers. Therefore, the total number of tasters ranged between 36 and 46. Ranking and scoring results from both panels were similar (i.e. no significant difference in an independent t-Test), even though the trained panel displayed a better sensitivity in the triangle test. Water preference scores ranged from 3.6 to 6.5. Multiple comparison procedures (i.e. Fischer’s Least Significant Difference Test) on global normalised liking results allowed us to define a grouping structure for water samples that were significantly different from the others. It was determined that membranes would contribute positively to consumer perception. For the relationship between the salinity represented by the total dissolved solids (TDS) and water preference, the overall trend indicated that water with lower salinity was preferred. These results confirm that the assessment of water is primarily driven by TDS even though other factors (i.e. pH, mineral composition) can play a significant role in the liking of water, which is consistent with previously published reports.