Is this water safe to drink?

[dajop]

We've had visitors in SIN who unbeknownst to us weren't keen on drinking tap water. So they helped themselves to the "bottled" water in the fridge. Little did they know we just refill bottles from the tap to keep them cool, but eventually they saw us soon it and were OK with it.

Throughout Most of Europe. Canada, U.S., Japan, Seoul and Singapore I drink tap water. And of course ANZ. Having seen so much plastic bottle waste in my travels wherever it is safe to do so I will drink tap water.

 

[Ausbt]

Heard an interesting ABC radio interview with Sydney Water marketing a week or so ago: there were anecdotal claims some migrants, even as far back as three generations, have never drunk Oz tap water! (did they really have bottled water 50 years ago?). Anyhoo, total waste of plastic bottles and these people shoud be re-educated pronto - we are not some 5th class country with cough (water) infrastructure. Might be the driest continent in the world but we can do clean water, thank you very much (SA excepted). Admittedly I used to be a Brita filter fan but over the past few years it's Sydney H20 directly from the tap. But anywhere else in the world? No.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Heard an interesting ABC radio interview with Sydney Water marketing a week or so ago: there were anecdotal claims some migrants, even as far back as three generations, have never drunk Oz tap water! (did they really have bottled water 50 years ago?). Anyhoo, total waste of plastic bottles and these people shoud be re-educated pronto - we are not some 5th class country with cough (water) infrastructure. Might be the driest continent in the world but we can do clean water, thank you very much (SA excepted). Admittedly I used to be a Brita filter fan but over the past few years it's Sydney H20 directly from the tap. But anywhere else in the world? No.

Disagree with SA.. SA water is safe to drink... in fact SA water have spent a lot of money (in the last 10 years) on improving their drinking water quality...
Now it's just a case of changing perceptions which as you point out can take some time

 

[albatross710]

Thanks for the ongoing dialogue. One of the original articles that I read was from the local media in HCMC (and have since found online) :

More than half of the 107 [ground water] water samples taken in six outlying districts "9, Thu Duc, Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, Nha Be and Cu Chi" were found to contain the E.coli and coliform bacteria, indicating feces contamination of the water. Most small producers dig wells to get the water and use a purifying [COLOR=#1B8EDE !important]process that uses coal, gravel and ultraviolet rays. It costs them a few hundred dong to produce a liter of bottled water.

Original Article here

Not all bottled water is the same!

Alby

 

[Ausbt]

Disagree with SA.. SA water is safe to drink

Apologies to all SA-uns, I haven't been down there for some time. Glad to hear it has improved.

 

[albatross710]

Apologies to all SA-uns, I haven't been down there for some time. Glad to hear it has improved.

it seems the topic of water quality is quite fluid.

 

[Deleted member]

I find that drinking beer works best. it doesn't seem to work so well when brushing my teeth though

 

[Mr_Orange]

When I go to Broken Hill NSW I would not recommend drinking tap water there. I was there in July and October for work and never drank any of it, and taking showers made my skin worse the people who I work with and live in the silver city also advised not to drink tap water.

I can second this and add Mt Isa.

I don't why you all think Brisbane tap water is bad..... what's wrong with you? It tastes of.... wait for it... water!! Maybe, I don't notice having drunk tap water all my life in rural Lincolnshire, London, Bristol, Brisbane, Hong Kong and various other European cities.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

I can second this and add Mt Isa.

I don't why you all think Brisbane tap water is bad..... what's wrong with you? It tastes of.... wait for it... water!! Maybe, I don't notice having drunk tap water all my life in rural Lincolnshire, London, Bristol, Brisbane, Hong Kong and various other European cities.

Can't comment on Broken Hill and Mount Isa.. but I think Broken Hill now has a desal plant?? Given what they have to work with I can understand why it's not great.
As for Brisbane.. A bit too chloriney for me... compared to Melbourne water which has very low chlorine residual.
It is funny what people get used to.. I come from Brisbane and when I was growing up I had no problem with it.. but now, having drunk Melbourne Water for so long I am used to that. The good news is that it is safe
Maybe it's that now I have a champagne palate

 

[Quickstatus]

Beware in some places (AFAIK mainly Asia) bottled water merely means the bottle was filled from a tap. Check the seal.

When visiting in Malaysia I have seen customers ask the restaurant proprietors to provide hot boiling water to rinse their eating utensils and crockery at the table before food is served. Usually in outdoor eating places.

Not only the water but your hands. Carry alcoholic hand rubs.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

KL has commenced construction of an advanced water treatment plant so quality (at least in the CBD) should improve.. Watch this space

 

[JohnK]

When I go to Broken Hill NSW I would not recommend drinking tap water there. I was there in July and October for work and never drank any of it, and taking showers made my skin worse the people who I work with and live in the silver city also advised not to drink tap water.

Barcaldine had a sulphur smell in the water. Not that I drank any water during the night I spent there.

 

[OATEK]

I have drunk tap water in every Australian state capital and Canberra, and never had a problem. Some days I turn on our tap in the morning (in Sydney) and the chlorine smell is very noticeable, but still use it.

While I mostly have bottled water with me on a daily basis when travelling, I have brushed my teeth and had the occasional glass all over the UK, in Paris, Berlin, Krakow, Vienna etc. Never had a problem so far.

In Athens every time I sat down in a restaurant, the first thing that arrived was a bottle of water. Bottle water supplied in Hotel, so I only had bottled water, and had a trouble free experience on both the food and water front (he he).

In Hong Kong I have generally used bottled water but have occasionally been lazy and used tap water in hotels for brushing of teeth. Never had a problem. In Singapore stuck to the bottled stuff.

Where we haven't been sure about the provenance of local bottled water have boiled some up and cooled in the fridge before heading out for the day.

 

[Pushka]

Disagree with SA.. SA water is safe to drink... in fact SA water have spent a lot of money (in the last 10 years) on improving their drinking water quality...
Now it's just a case of changing perceptions which as you point out can take some time

Agree. Our water quality here in SA has improved hugely. If the water tastes bad then check how old the pipes are in the house.

 

[k_sheep]

I'm a bit of a greenie, so try to avoid bottled as much as possible. I boil water in Asia (excluding HKG and SIN) for consumption. And I don't boil it "properly" (ie I just boil it once!) so it's probably more for show than anything.

Lived in Malaysia for 6mo, brushed teeth with tap water just fine, but still went with boiled for drinking.