"Tap water can be healthier than bottled water"
Tap water in Belgium is completely safe to drink. In some cases, it is even healthier than mineral water from bottles you buy in the shop, as this can contain too many minerals. That's according to research carried out by the consumers' organisation Test-Aankoop.
Test-Aankoop analysed the tap water at 44 different locations, testing nitrate levels and the presence of pesticides, lead and hormones. Researchers found nitrates, but the levels remained below the levels imposed by the Health Department. The same goes for other substances that were (sometimes) found.
Taking all this into account, Test-Aankoop points to the fact that bottled water is 200 times more expensive than tap water, and that it is not necessarily better. "Some types contain too many minerals. Although we do have to add that pregnant women are advised to avoid tap water because of the possible presence of nitrates."
Drinking tap water also poses a smaller burden on the environment, Test-Aankoop stresses.