# Tap water c del sol



## Duchess (Sep 28, 2009)

Is the tap water in C del Sol ok to drink? 
I always seem to get upset tum when I drink water or even clean my teeth with tap water, wherever I am abroad.

I thought maybe I could use bottled and add a small amount of tap and increase it gradually?
Or, use boiled water, cool it down and put in the fridge!

What did you do when you first arrived?


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

The mains tap water in Spain is of excellent quality, just like any civilised country. I've lived here for 20 years and drink it wherever I am. In some place, like Almería, it can be a bit salty, while in others it smells strongly of chlorine, but it has never caused problems and don-t know anyone who doesn't drink it. Unlike the UK, where you may have a dead rat in the cold water tank in the loft, in Spain every tap comes straight from the mains, so the bathroom tap gives pure, clean water, just like the kitchen. 

There are, of course, some more remote properties where the supply comes from a deposit or well and one would be advised to boil these. 

Incidentally, how would you know that it was the tap water and not, say, what you ate for lunch that caused an upset stomach?


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## buble (Apr 29, 2011)

Madliz said:


> The mains tap water in Spain is of excellent quality, just like any civilised country. I've lived here for 20 years and drink it wherever I am. In some place, like Almería, it can be a bit salty, while in others it smells strongly of chlorine, but it has never caused problems and don-t know anyone who doesn't drink it. Unlike the UK, where you may have a dead rat in the cold water tank in the loft, in Spain every tap comes straight from the mains, so the bathroom tap gives pure, clean water, just like the kitchen.
> 
> There are, of course, some more remote properties where the supply comes from a deposit or well and one would be advised to boil these.
> 
> Incidentally, how would you know that it was the tap water and not, say, what you ate for lunch that caused an upset stomach?


Over chlorination of drinking water in some areas of Spain, causes an excess of trihalomethanes, which has been attributed in some cases to bladder cancer. One clinical investigation said that the risk was as high as 20%. Check it out online. In the area of Busot, Alicante, it was 50% higher than the permitted EU level, and they were given until 2014 to sort it out. Presumably they have done so, as I have heard no more about it.
That is why the Spanish use a lot of bottled water, they don't trust the tap water.
All you can do to be certain that it is safe, is to have your water tested, the taste is not an indication of it being OK.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Have a read of this, it was a discussion we had a while ago on the subject http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/126601-tap-water.html

Jo xxx


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

As a rule, tap water is perfectly safe to drink. There are exceptions, but if there is a health risk, the council will warn people and cut off the supply until it's sorted (as happened in part of Cadiz over Christmas).

If you are convinced that tap water is giving you a funny tummy, the idea of gradually increasing the intake by mixing it with bottled water so that your body can get used to it is a good one. But it may well be other factors, such as mild dehydration, heatstroke, or simply the change in diet. I always used to pig out on fresh fruit when I came here on holiday, with fairly dramatic consequences ...


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## Duchess (Sep 28, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> As a rule, tap water is perfectly safe to drink. There are exceptions, but if there is a health risk, the council will warn people and cut off the supply until it's sorted (as happened in part of Cadiz over Christmas).
> 
> If you are convinced that tap water is giving you a funny tummy, the idea of gradually increasing the intake by mixing it with bottled water so that your body can get used to it is a good one. But it may well be other factors, such as mild dehydration, heatstroke, or simply the change in diet. I always used to pig out on fresh fruit when I came here on holiday, with fairly dramatic consequences ...


Thanks. I do believe it is as I did a process of elimination, too much to go into detail here. I will mix it with bottled water. 
I know what you mean about the fresh fruit, I too will have to take it steady!

Ps can anyone tell me a good private health insurance company, my other thread has not had many replies?


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Duchess said:


> Thanks. I do believe it is as I did a process of elimination, too much to go into detail here. I will mix it with bottled water.
> I know what you mean about the fresh fruit, I too will have to take it steady!
> 
> Ps can anyone tell me a good private health insurance company, my other thread has not had many replies?


Not needing it, we are not overfamiliar with what is on offer but I understand that a number of people have recommended Sanitas.


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## ch1ckpea (Jul 22, 2015)

We are renting and the water supply is pumped from a well. Our landlord is Spanish and we don't speak enough Spanish to have a decent conversation about the water with him. The problem is the water is incredibly hard with lots of calcium deposit. We pulled hard pieces of scale out of the kettle recently and I would hate to know how this is affecting our bodies. We use a combination of brita water filter and bottled water but although the bottled water is cheap, I don't like buying it because of all the plastic waste. Does anyone know what rights you have as a tenant regarding the supply of drinking water and also where I can buy / or get the water tested? I have a digital TDS stick that measures the total dissolvable solids in the water that affect its quality and purity and it shows a reading of 606 which according to a WHO report is acceptable. We are looking into getting a water purifier unit for the drinking water, at least. Does anyone know anything about purifiers and if they are fairly easy to install and where we can get one in Malaga? Thanks !


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

buble said:


> In the area of Busot, Alicante, it was 50% higher than the permitted EU level, and they were given until 2014 to sort it out. Presumably they have done so, as I have heard no more about it.
> .



I don't think they have, we live there and the water is undrinkable out of the tap although you would be told it's supposedly safe to drink. If we use that as a guideline then so is wee so it can't be all that bad. 

What I do know is there is a huge new build involving water treatment but so far they are focusing on making the water in parts of San Juan, La Font "urbanisable".

We have a Brita filter which does make the water pleasant enough to drink but that wont filter out the trihalomethanes. 
I'm also really displeased with using the water on my plants but I know having some kind of proper salt or ozmosis filter at the source is necessary so there will be some more money wasted.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

ch1ckpea said:


> We are renting and the water supply is pumped from a well. Our landlord is Spanish and we don't speak enough Spanish to have a decent conversation about the water with him. The problem is the water is incredibly hard with lots of calcium deposit. We pulled hard pieces of scale out of the kettle recently and I would hate to know how this is affecting our bodies. We use a combination of brita water filter and bottled water but although the bottled water is cheap, I don't like buying it because of all the plastic waste. Does anyone know what rights you have as a tenant regarding the supply of drinking water and also where I can buy / or get the water tested? I have a digital TDS stick that measures the total dissolvable solids in the water that affect its quality and purity and it shows a reading of 606 which according to a WHO report is acceptable. We are looking into getting a water purifier unit for the drinking water, at least. Does anyone know anything about purifiers and if they are fairly easy to install and where we can get one in Malaga? Thanks !


Hard water might be a problem in some ways but it is not bad for your health.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

We have been advised by our Spanish friends not to drink water from the tap. It is not mains and is pumped from somewhere into our well. It is very high in calcium and the health service here maintains it is the cause of a high incidence of kidney stones. Apparently the average age around here to suffer from stones is 49. We only drink bottled water.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

thrax said:


> We have been advised by our Spanish friends not to drink water from the tap. It is not mains and is pumped from somewhere into our well. It is very high in calcium and the health service here maintains it is the cause of a high incidence of kidney stones. Apparently the average age around here to suffer from stones is 49. We only drink bottled water.


I've heard this theory before, but more recent research indicates that dehydration, genetic factors and even a _deficiency_ of dietary calcium are far more likely to cause kidney stones than high calcium levels in drinking water.



> Should I stop my calcium if I have kidney stones?
> Many kidney stone formers, especially women with kidney stones, question whether to stop or reduce their calcium intake. Despite the fact that calcium is a major component of 75% of stones, excessive calcium intake is very rarely the cause of stone formation. In fact, several studies have shown that restricting calcium intake in most stone formers actually increases the number of stones they develop. This appears to happen because when less calcium is ingested, it becomes easier for oxalate (which normally binds with calcium in the gut) to be absorbed. Higher levels of oxalate in the urine then lead to an increase in stone risk.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

Quote: Higher levels of oxalate in the urine then lead to an increase in stone risk.

That's interesting. I know that oxalate is connected with gout and my FiL has long suffered from both kidney stones and gout. I also consider that he never drinks enough - water, that is!


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