I have lived in Spain for 34 years and for all that time I have drunk tap water, suffering no ill effects. When I first arrived, anyone could stop at a bar or café to ask for “agua del grifo” and the bar had to supply it, as long as you drank it straight down and left.
But tourists and most foreign residents would always buy bottled water and gradually as Spain became more affluent, they did so too.
Tap water must adhere to strict regulations and you are more likely to hear of problems with bottled water being removed from supermarket shelves as not being fit to drink. Micro plastics and chemicals can often leech into the water from the plastic bottles. But of course there’s money to be made from bottled water.
If your tap water tastes of chlorine, stand a jug of water uncovered in your fridge overnight, and the chlorine will evaporate. Alternatively use a simple jug filter. Tap water is best, far cheaper than lugging heavy bottles and it is piped straight to your tap.
Think how “green” you’ll be eliminating all that plastic!
Joe Billet
