# Clean drinking water, Alexandria



## Nadeem Akhtar (Apr 20, 2012)

Having now switched to Alexandria for work reasons, I am wondering how people in this part of the country ensure the quality of their drinking water. It seems many use Reverse Osmosis systems, is this correct? Either that, or bottled drinking water from the shop, I assume.

I know there are some innovative ideas out there, for water purification 'on location', but few Egyptians seem to be aware of any viable alternatives. I'm wondering if this is just a high cost issue. I know Reverse Osmosis also gets a bad write-up in many places and a lot of people tell you not to bother with it.

It's a shame, to experience the poor quality of the tap water almost everywhere you travel in this country.

What do the posters in this forum do for drinking water in the home, specifically? It would be interesting to know how your supply is dealt with in the workplace, too. Anybody tried solar powered water distillation?


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## txlstewart (Jun 20, 2010)

Bottled water--Nestlé. Tastes the best.

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## Nadeem Akhtar (Apr 20, 2012)

txlstewart said:


> Bottled water--Nestlé. Tastes the best.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


Quick response!

I will look around for it. I have to admit, I have not spotted Nestlé's bottled water in the shops here in Alexandria.

Can you get water delivered to the door?

I am thinking, if people use a lot of water for cooking or tea/coffee (I get through gallons of the stuff!), it could be useful to have a home delivery service, rather than having to carry litre bottles around.

I know of gimmicks like LifeStraw (?), which is a bit of joke. Then there is RO, and obviously some of the bottled water is good - that's what most people seem to rely on now. I know the bedouins use solar thermal energy to distill water in volume, with a device that can be fixed to your rooftop and simply plugged in to a flat plate solar collector. It just cleans rainwater, tapwater or well-water, right where you are. That's WaterStillar Egypt.

I think they cater mostly to businesses or larger sites. Haven't heard much from them recently.

Where exactly are you in Egypt, txl? I think Cairo has the best options for drinking water (including I assume home delivery of the bottled stuff). I also like Nestle's water, by the way, but I just don't own a car (yet) to move all my food shopping around in. I would need to haul several litres of the stuff around in bags!


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## expatagogo (May 31, 2010)

Nadeem Akhtar said:


> I will look around for it. I have to admit, I have not spotted Nestlé's bottled water in the shops here in Alexandria.


You'll find it in the larger supermarkets (Metro, etc.) much more often than the little shops in the street.



Nadeem Akhtar said:


> Can you get water delivered to the door?


I send my bawaab for it.


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## txlstewart (Jun 20, 2010)

I get the big bottles delivered from my local grocery store.

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## Nadeem Akhtar (Apr 20, 2012)

Excellent. Thanks for the tips guys!


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## marimar (Feb 9, 2011)

Nadeem Akhtar said:


> What do the posters in this forum do for drinking water in the home, specifically?



We just use ordinary tap water for everything!!


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## Lanason (Sep 1, 2009)

We have Nestle deliver each week

Water dispenser in the house for Fresh good water - we use Tap form brushing teeth etc but NOT for washing vegetables


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## Nadeem Akhtar (Apr 20, 2012)

marimar said:


> We just use ordinary tap water for everything!!


That is interesting, Marimar. I think the quality of tap water can vary from one neighbourhood to another.

Do you bother boiling it? 

I suppose the tap water is not too different in quality from that in Spain and Portugal. That is, the piping and the infrastructure is also an issue, if it's old and failing and coming apart.

Anyway, I am rambling.


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## marimar (Feb 9, 2011)

Nadeem Akhtar said:


> That is interesting, Marimar. I think the quality of tap water can vary from one neighbourhood to another.
> 
> Do you bother boiling it?
> 
> ...



I boil water if its for tea or cooking but apart from that, no, just take it from the tap, leave to stand for a while (to reduce Chlorine,apparently) and drink it. I do think it varies like you said from area to area, I read before on the forum where some people in Alex had to buy bottled water because the tap water wasn't good. After years on being on bottled water (living in Sharm) we just had to get used to the taste but now don't really notice it.


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## txlstewart (Jun 20, 2010)

I have heard from a very reliable source that the water quality all over is worse than we suspect.

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