This may sound like a silly question for the 21st Century...
I will be in Catalonia (mostly Barcelona) and then in Provence & Côte d'Azur.
Are there any concerns with drinking the water in those regions? Last time I was in Spain (the 70s), as an example, I was told to beware of drinking the water in Madrid. I ended up not heeding that advice and paid the price with a stomach ailment.
Thanks
I've never had any problem drinking the lovely tap water anywhere in the Provence and Cote d'Azur areas, or neighboring Italy. In fact, never had any problem anywhere in Europe. I've never been to Spain, though.
I've been to Madrid at least five times, between business and vacations. As often noted in this forum, drinking water everywhere in Western Europe is entirely safe. Perhaps you ate a cold tapas that was on the counter too long, or failed to wash your hands well enough before picking up a churro? There are hundreds of thousands of digestive infections in the US every year ...
On the other hand, if you'd like a taste of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether, or dissolved lead, stop by my house in New Jersey. I'll give you as much tap water as you want, from the municipal water company, metered and paid for.
We drank water in Madrid without harm a couple of years ago but I did notice the fact that the tapas often are reheated and lukewarm so food poisoning is likely. My husband got food poisoning in Paris a few years ago from a Salad Composee that contained shrimps.
I'm a water resources engineer. The short answer is no. When the eurozone adopted the single currency a lot of water infrastructure improvements were made in countries like Ireland, Portugal, Greece, and Spain to improve water quality. There are some areas along the Med. coast where saltwater intrusion is becoming an issue (over pumping of groundwater for water supply drawing in saltwater into the aquifer), but the municipalities are dealing with it.
-Matt
I have drunk the water in Spain.. ( Barcelona, Tossa , and Majorrca) with no ill effects,, and in all places in France ,, south , east , north or south.. never had an issue.
There are two points to ponder. First.. sometimes we attribute an illness to water but it could easily be anything we ate .. and secondly, some people are super sensitive to even different mineral contents in water and can get upset tummies from drinking water in their own countries but in different regions.
The sickest I ever got( and I was sick sick sick ) was from eating in a dubious place in Rome.. only had the one meal.. lunch, had only had tea and toast for breakfast that day.. went out for lunch, and then no appetite for dinner and that night then ALL night and ALL the next day was violently ill.. I knew I shouldn't have eaten at that scuzzy place in Rome,, the waiter even had his thumb in my food when he carried it over,, blech.. lol good times good times.. at least experienced first hand the lovely Italian hospitality at the Argritourismo we stayed at that night and day outside Florence.. desk clerk and maid checked on me all day bringing me juices and broth.. and my poor 11 yr old with me lunch and dinner .. to the room.. She wasn't ill , just stuck with me. Ps we both drank the water so I know it was what I ate.. a salad.. she had spaghetti.
Thanks for your responses, everyone!
