The vast majority of French people can drink tap water. But more than a million of them do not have access, mainly because of agricultural pollution.
98% of French households have access to good quality water. The study by the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir, published on February 26, is not satisfied with it: there remain 1.5 million French people who cannot drink tap water.
Agricultural pollution dominates
The UFC-Que Choisir team reviewed the presence of pollutants (nitrates, pesticides, selenium, bacteria, radioactivity, aluminum) in tap water. The interactive map of their results is available on their website.
First assessment: “280,000 additional consumers now benefit from good quality water” according to UFC-Que Choisir. Progress compared to the 2012 survey, but there are still many gaps. Pollution of tap water is mainly of agricultural origin (63%). The city of Coulommiers (Seine-et-Marne) wins the prize for the municipality most polluted by pesticides.
Incomplete water treatment ranks second (33%), particularly in Saint-Etienne (Loire) and Albertville (Savoie). First consequence: the presence of sometimes harmful bacteria in water intended for the consumption of all, including the most fragile.
Not enough prevention
The consumer association also denounces a partial application of the “Grenelle de l’Environnement”. “This concerns 500 priority drinking water sources, around which environmentally friendly agriculture should have been developed. Traditional agriculture has been maintained in these areas of Haute-Normandie, Oise, Meurthe-et-Moselle and Seine-et-Marne.
Direct consequence of all this pollution: the water is contaminated at the source. The water agencies “however required by law to finance the prevention of agricultural pollution at their source”, according to the UFC, only devote 6.5% of their budget to this task. “On the basis of the regrettable results linked to pollution of agricultural origin and the under mobilization of prevention means, the UFC-Que Choisir calls on the public authorities to action for a preserved aquatic resource and an agricultural policy of the renovated water. “It calls first and foremost for the protection of priority catchment sites. This will require strict compliance with the objectives of the “Grenelle” I and II laws, as well as an investment by the water agencies in the prevention of pollution.
Good news, however: tap water is still better than bottled water on three criteria. It is much cheaper since a liter of tap water costs € 0.003 compared to 0.34 cents on average per liter of water in the supermarket. It is also more often indicated for daily consumption, generates less packaging and has a lower impact on the greenhouse effect.
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