January 27, 2017.
According to a survey conducted by the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir, tap water in France is of good quality. But in some municipalities, the water is still very polluted.
Water infected with pesticides, nitrates or lead
UFC-What to Choose investigated for two and a half years the quality of tap water in 36,600 municipalities in France and published, Thursday, January 26, an interactive map, which specifies the areas where the water is the most polluted. These territories are mostly rural and are infected by pesticides, herbicides such as atrazine, nitrates or lead used in agriculture, but also by bacteria. In total, three million French people drink polluted water.
95% of French households therefore benefit from water that “ respects all regulatory limits with flying colors throughout the year “. However, ” one in five French people do not trust tap water and one in two uses bottled water every day “, Insisted on Alain Bazot, the president of the UFC-Que Choisir.
The areas most affected by water pollution
We risk having health problems by drinking tap water in 13 villages of Lozère. One can indeed suffer from intestinal disturbances or gastroenteritis if one does not drink bottled water. But this is not the only territory in France to be affected. The inhabitants of certain villages of Drôme, Cantal, Haute-Loire, Savoie and Haute-Savoie, Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence also suffer from this pollution of the pipes.
200,000 people in France cannot drink tap water because it is not drinkable. ” This is the case in Saran, in the Loiret, in Berck, in the Pas-de-Calais, but also in the municipalities of Seine-et-Marne where nitrates and pesticides accumulate at the tap, just like in Beauce. », Details the UFC-Que Choisir.
Marine Rondot
To read also: Drinking water: why and how much?
