Mains tap water - or bottled?

90% of French people say they trust their mains tap water, according to a TNS-Sofres survey for the Centre d'Information sur l'Eau.

However a TV documentary last month exposed high levels of toxins and pesticides in several regions of France.
We asked Connexion weekly newsletter readers whether they considered their tap water safe to drink.
Intensive farming is to blame

In the Côtes-d'Armor (Brittany) there are so many chemicals in the water from intensive farming, the doctor told us not to drink water from boreholes, wells and public water supplies - only bottled water.

Stan and Sue

Carrefour own brand water makes good tea

I am a very fussy tea drinker and judge my tea on the water I use. My tap water is disgusting and makes terrible tea.

I now make te and cook my pasta and rice using Carrefour's own-brand Eau de Source de Montagne d'Auvergne.

Pearl Lloyd

Bottled water could be just as risky

We have been worrying about the quality of the water ever since we moved to our last house here in Alsace - and shortly afterwards received a letter apologising for the bad quality of the water.

That is what alerted us to the fact that the water quality here in France is not always what it should be.

Our dentist told me a while ago that the same thing had happened where he lives and that since then he buys bottled water and carries it to his adult children's homes in order to make sure they won't drink tap water again.

We find it a disgrace, especially because we live in a region where water is incredibly expensive, but also because they are playing with people's health.

We have now bought a filter for the tap which is quite expensive and although it is only the two of us using the water and we only use the filter for the drinking water, not for cooking, it doesn't last long.

First we used to buy bottled water but after reading a few articles about the chemicals the plastic leaches into the water we had to give that up too and it seems that there are even fewer tests for bottled water.

It comes to a point that one doesn't know what to do any more because it is not only the quality of the water which is a worry, it is also the quality of the food, all the harmful chemicals in cosmetics, in cleaning products, medicines you are prescribed, you name it.

Trying to get information is not easy either because everybody tells you a different story.

Francisca Williams