Tap water banned for ‘fragile people’ in 11 French communes due to pollution
The prefectural ban is set to remain in place until at least December 31
Vulnerable or fragile people are advised to use bottled water for drinking, and when preparing baby food
Hanneke Wetzer/Shutterstock
People considered to be ‘fragile’ have been advised not to drink the tap water in 11 communes in north-east France due to pollution concerns.
The communes are all close to the Bâle-Mulhouse airport, near Basel, in the Saint-Louis area in Haut-Rhin (Grand Est).
The ban for fragile or ‘sensitive’ people was issued on April 25 by the prefect of Haut-Rhin, in close collaboration with the Grand Est Regional Health Agency, the Saint-Louis Agglomération and its delegate Veolia.
It came into effect on May 5, and is expected to remain in place until at least December 31, the date by which the Saint-Louis Agglomération has been tasked to detail an action plan for the water to meet current standards.
Those considered to be ‘fragile’ in this context are:
Pregnant women
Breastfeeding women
Children under two years of age
Immunocompromised individuals or those undergoing chemotherapy
People awaiting transplant surgery
People with chronic conditions (such as HIV or cancer)
Vulnerable older people
This is estimated to comprise around 3,000 inhabitants (or 5%) of the Saint-Louis metropolitan area. These people are advised not to drink the water and instead use bottled mineral water, including in the preparation of baby bottles and/or food.
The prefecture advised:
Tap water should no longer be used for drinking or preparing baby bottles for sensitive individuals
Domestic filtration devices (filter jugs, etc.) are not recommended as their effectiveness against ‘forever chemicals’ (PFAS) remains to be proven
Well water and rainwater should not be consumed as they are not monitored.
However, it added that “based on current scientific knowledge, all other uses (cooking food, cleaning fruit and vegetables, personal hygiene, brushing teeth, sanitary facilities, watering, swimming pools, etc.) remain authorised”.
PFAS ‘forever chemicals’
The ban has come into force because the tap water in these communes is suspected of having been polluted by an anti-fire mousse, which contains so-called ‘forever chemicals’ (PFAS).
Their levels regularly exceed the permitted limits in drinking water in the area, figures show. This is due to firefighters using anti-fire foam at and near Basel-Mulhouse Airport over the past few years.
PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are pollutants that have been linked to potentially harmful effects on health. They are typically found in household items such as non-stick pans and utensils, but also in flame-retardant materials, and any products with a ‘degreasing’, anti-heat, anti-oil, or waterproof quality.
The tap water in these communes has been found to be “persistently contaminated by the 20 major PFAS…above the regulatory limit of 0.1 micrograms per litre (µg/l) in distributed water”, the authorities said.
Read also: Potentially toxic ‘forever chemicals’ are poorly monitored in France
Decontamination
They are now working on decontamination, in a clean-up estimated to cost €17 million overall, as reported by ici Alsace.
In the short-term, the Haut-Rhin prefecture has ordered the Saint-Louis Agglomération to install three mobile filtration units. In the medium to long-term, three filtration plants will be built, said Bruno Wollenschneider, president of the airport residents’ Association de Défense des Riverains de l'Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse (ADRA), to France Culture.
Yet, authorities have already called for support to help them manage the project, as the area’s usual budget for water management is €4 million per year, said Jean-Marc Deichtmann, president of the Saint-Louis urban area.
“We absolutely need help,” he told ici Alsace at FranceBleu.
“One co-investor has already come forward, EuroAirport, but we do not yet know how much funding will be provided. We are also working with the prefect and the water agency, which would be willing to support us, but the conditions have yet to be defined,” he said.
Mr Wollenschneider said that “it is up to Basel-Mulhouse Airport to pay", and reiterated the “the polluter pays” principle. He said that “there is no question of consumers and residents living near the airport having to bear the additional costs of water filtration.”
The communes affected
The communes included in the ban are Bartenheim, Blotzheim, Buschwiller, Hégenheim, Hésingue, Huningue, Kembs, Neuwiller, Rosenau, Saint-Louis, and Village-Neuf.
Read also: MAP: French communes with ‘forever chemicals’ detected in tap water
These communes are not the only areas to have been contaminated by PFAS in recent years across France. For example, one major study in 2024 into tap water quality across France found that more than two in five samples were contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’.
Read more: Tap water in France is safe, says health chief who sent leaked email
Read also: Pesticides in French tap water ‘not a health risk’
