Where can I find a tap water report for my part of Spain?
Ministerio de Sanidad is responsible for the quality of the tap water in Spain. According to them 99.5% of all public tap water in Spain is potable (safe to drink) but this doesn’t necessarily mean that it tastes good or is healthy.
Every local provider has to report certified lab tests every 6 months resulting in over 40 million reports per year. The tests are much more stringent than bottled water. This is why it's usually claimed that tap water or filtered tap water is healthier than bottled water.
All water companies within the EU are obliged to provide public information and water test reports about the quality of the water. There is no public source for water quality results so we’ve put together a database with reports covering 90% of the population of Spain on Water Quality.
Tap water quality reports by city in Spain
Here you can find or request your local tap water report (note that not all companies will provide it despite regulation):
– A Coruña: Click here
– Barcelona: Click here (very good reports)
– Bilbao: Click here
– Córdoba: Click here
– Elche: Click here
– Gijón: Click here
– Granada: Click here
– Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Click here
– Madrid: No public report available
– Málaga: No public report available
– Murcia: Click here
– Palma de Mallorca: No public report available
– Seville: Click here
– València: Click here (very good reports)
– Valladolid: Click here
– Vigo: Click here
– Vitoria-Gasteiz: Click here
– Zaragoza: Click here
Let us know if the links need to be updated or you don’t get a response from your local water company.
Is the water safe in your part of Spain?
We collected over 100 reports from people living in Spain on tap water quality in each area. Search for your city/region here.
Why does the water taste so much chlorine?
To deliver safe and clean drinking water to your faucet, free chlorine or in some cases (Madrid) chloramine is added. The chlorine has no impact on your health, but may give the water a poor taste and smell. The amount of chlorine added varies significantly by location and time of the year as well as the water source, temperature and other factors. Therefore the taste also varies a lot throughout the year.
Chlorine may also be added to bottled water for safety reasons. Check the label for more information.
To remove the chlorine and thus improve the taste you can use an activated carbon filter such as EcoPro.
Who regulates the drinking water in Spain?
In Spain all drinking water, whether from public supplies or other sources, has to meet standards laid down in the EU Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC). It is the duty of each EU member state government to translate the requirements of the directive into local laws, which must as a minimum meet the requirements of EU legislation. This is implemented through the Royal Decree 140/2003 in Spain by which health criteria for water quality for drinking.
To see where the water comes from in your area, when it was last tested and tests carried out visit Sinac. Also see when the water was last tested in your region through Ministerio de Sanidad (MSSSI) .
The EU and Spanish standards are based on advice from the World Health Organization – through the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, which are regularly updated to take account of new knowledge.
How do I test my water for knowing the Spanish tap water quality?
Even if your local water company delivers drinkable water there is a risk that your water gets contaminated along the way to your tap. Could be due to old pipes or leakage. Therefore you might want to test the water coming out from your tap if you suspect an issue.
There are numerous quality control laboratories water consumption both public and private. Under current legislation, the Ministry made an official census of control laboratories water consumption in Spain. You can consult the list of laboratories in the website of the Ministry. But first you should ask your water company for a water report.
Summary tap water in Spain
1. The tap water in Spain is generally of high quality but tastes and smells poor in many areas mostly due to hard water and the chlorine being added.
2. There are areas in Spain where the pipelines are old and/or exposed to contamination or where the water comes from a source which is unsuitable for drinking and the water should be filtered.
3. There is affordable and efficient technology such as activated carbon based faucet water filters to filter out chlorine, other unwanted substances from tap water to make it taste better.
4. To find out if your local tap water is safe check out the list above or one of our "Can I drink the tap water in..." blogs for your area.
Ready more about choosing the best water filter.
