“You know there's cocaine in your tap water, right?”
If you spend any time online, you may have come across videos or headlines warning you that tap water is unhealthy and dangerous. That it’s filled with chemicals. Or drugs.
And if you’re honest, some of it sounds kind of believable.
That’s because – like most myths – tap water horror stories are often based on some truth, only with a big pinch of hysteria added on top. To help you tell facts from fiction, we’re shining some light on your faucets.
Read on for three of the biggest tap water myths, debunked.
1. Your tap water is (secretly) contaminated
Your tap water may look clean, but is it? According to some misinformation online, there is a dark and hidden truth about your tap water: the sources it comes from cannot be trusted.
Supposedly, water reserves are contaminated by different chemicals or bacteria that you don't want to be drinking. Originating from dirty reserves, it then flows through dirty pipes before reaching your tap. And who’s responsible for all the mess? The big bad government.
The reality is less dark, and not hidden at all. Drinking water quality in Europe is monitored closely to adhere to strict European laws. National bodies responsible for drinking water quality research and report their findings.
The Dutch tap water, for example, undergoes regular, advanced testing and filtering. The same goes for France, where tap water is the food item that undergoes the most testing. (Yup, we also expected it to be wine.)
The not-so-dangerous truth then? Water contamination can happen. But thanks to rules, regulations, and reporting, you can continue to trust your tap. Cheers.
2. Your tap water is full of drugs
Type in #TapWater on TikTok and it's likely that your algorithm will quickly bring you to videos with titles like "COCAINE in your tap water!" or "You’re drinking up a pharmacy." And before some of you get excited about free drugs, it doesn’t really work like that.
There is some truth to it. Traces of medicine do end up in the surface water. But thanks to monitoring and purifying, the concentration of those leftovers is far too low to have any effect on the human body. In fact, according to the Dutch news outlet Pointer, you'd have to drink two liters of water for 13.000 years to take in the equivalent of one Paracetamol pill.
No free drug cocktail for now. But with more people taking more medicine, the traces in our water could also increase. Water companies are working hard on even better ways of keeping the tap water clean. So you can continue to drink from the tap and no one has to waste money on overpriced and polluting packaged water.
3. Whatever you do, don’t drink from the tap on vacation
This myth is one from before the digital age. Yet, it's still in place. Maybe your parents used to tell you not to drink from the tap on vacation (unless you wanted to spend the night on the toilet). Or the chlorine taste in some countries throws you off.
Whatever it is, the takeaway is the same: let’s go for packaged water to stay “safe”. Which is not only bad for both the planet and your travel budget. It’s also false.
In truth, 95% of Europe has access to safe water coming from the tap. While the situation can be different outside of Europe, here you can bring your Dopper bottle as a trusted travel companion.
If in doubt, it's always good to check online to see if the water is safe to drink. That way you can safely refill.
There you go. Three tap water myths, debunked. If some of your concerns are gone now, glad we could help and please pass on the information. Any more tap water stories that are keeping you up at night? Let us know below.
Thanks,
Dopper