ENVIRONMENT: Many checks are conducted to test the drinking water supplied by municipalities …
If three quarters of the inhabitants of the Pays de la Loire reported drinking tap water distributed in their town, just over a third ensures consume as exclusive drink. Many have in fact more confidence in the mineral water. Are they right? Drinking water of Loire-Atlantique is it good?
Without risk to health in all areas. More than 10,000 drinking water samples are taken every year by the Regional Health Agency (ARS). Objective: search chemical bacteriological contamination or radiation. The results are positive: the “microbiological quality is particularly good.” The consumer association UFC Que Choisir , which sorted the data, reached the same conclusion: there is “no health risk” and that in all municipalities of the department. She even recommends “prefer tap water to bottled water.”
A quality that can be further improved. If all criteria are consistent health, drinking water distributed in thirty municipalities is however considered “marginal” by the UFC Que Choisir due to the minimal presence of pollutants. This is particularly the case in Pornic, Nort-sur-Erdre, Bouaye, Saint-Aignan de Grandlieu, Le Pellerin, Heric, Varades, Paimbœuf or Frossay. “These defects are not dangerous but must be treated with water dispensers. It has a cost and therefore an impact on consumer bills, “says Gerard Allard, vice president of the association in Nantes.
Agricultural waste culprit. The presence of pesticides from the agricultural sector is the main cause of a lack of quality. They are found in 7% of the distribution networks of the department. Among these pesticides, ARS falls for example traces of herbicides used for the treatment of corn that should not be on the market for several years.
“We advise consumers to denounce these practices as they evolve. We also suggest that pollution is further supported by farmers on the polluter pays principle, “said Que Choisir. While they are too present in rivers and groundwater, nitrates themselves are very few records in tap water because more easily removed by treatment methods.
Bad taste and appearance. Organics and chlorite (chlorine) are the other major shortcomings of water quality. Their presence is paradoxically related to water treatment itself. “They are safe but can sometimes give a bad taste or appearance blur,” said Que Choisir.
