We like to pay attention and be aware of the recommendations of the OCU. And not only with regard to which micellar water is better or which is the star coffee in the supermarket, but also with regard to habits that are not products that have to be checked out, such as the correct use of tupperware and its recommendations. so that the mobile is always clean. In fact, the Organization of Consumers and Users is not especially a fan of bottled water and he believes that turning on the tap at home is “the best, good quality and cheapest option” when it comes to hydration. Of course, not in all parts of the Spanish geography…
The OCU has analyzed the water from 62 different points in Spain and there are substantial differences in its composition between municipalities. In this study, the origin, quality, level of contaminants present or the amount of chlorine, among other factors, were taken into account. The result was that the quality was excellent in 19 of the municipalities analyzed, good in 36 and only 7 required corrective measures.
The cities with the best tap water, according to the OCU
Although it is vox populi that the water of Madrid It is one of the best in all of Spain, at the top of the OCU list the cities that are named are: Burgos, Vigo, San Sebastián or Las Palmas. In all of them it is recommended to use tap water for drinking and cooking instead of mineral water. The motives? According to the OCU, doing so saves more than 440 euros a year and generates much less waste.
More specifically, of Burgos water, they highlight that has few minerals, no lime (soft) and does not present contaminants of any kind. In addition, it has a good price, below the national average.
That of San Sebastián, on the other hand, is a water with very light mineralization. Of course, a small presence of copper was found, probably from the building’s pipes. Otherwise, it is excellent in all hygiene and contamination parameters. And it’s cheap too.
Finally, it may seem surprising that it has slipped into the shortlist of the three best water of a city like Las Palmas, located on an island, where water resources are necessarily quite limited. However, your water may come from a mixture of sources (desalination plant, own wells, aquifers).
The cities with the worst tap water, according to the OCU
On the contrary, as we said before, of the 62 samples collected, deficiencies were found in seven of them which, without being so serious as to make the water undrinkable, require corrective measures. Is about Palma de Mallorca, Ciudad Real, Barcelona, Huelva, Logroño, Lebanza (Palencia) and Arandiga (Zaragoza), that came out as the worst stops.
In Lebanza the presence of E.coli, faecal contamination indicator. The water in this locality also exceeded the maximums in other indicators, which shows a very poor water quality when the sampling was done.
In Ciudad Real, trihalomethanes were detected (99.7 micrograms/liter, bordering on the limit that is 100 mcg/l). Any small variation in the water could exceed the limit and become unfit for consumption. Trihalomethanes are substances that result from the combination of chlorine with organic matter in the water during water purification. In addition, they are easy to avoid by placing adequate filters in the treatment plants or by improving the filtration of organic matter.
As regards Palma de Mallorca, the water was very hard and highly mineralized, which confers Bad taste. But the most worrying thing is that it contained 26 mg/liter of nitrates, slightly above the level recommended by the WHO (25 mg/l). Inside the stomach, nitrates are transformed into nitrites, which can cause serious health problems in children (metaglobinemia).
In Arandiga, the count of aerobic and coliform microorganisms it was very high. The presence of these bacteria reveals poor hygiene and a higher probability of harmful bacteria.
Finally, in Barcelona, Huelva and Logroño It was detected high presence of aerobic microorganisms that reveal poor water disinfection. However, contamination can come from the treatment plant or from any point along the route, including the pipes in the home.
Cover photo | Bluewater Sweden
In Jared | Micellar water: what it is, what it is used for and the 19 best micellar waters