One of the main concerns of tourists is whether it is true that you can drink tap water in the Canary Islands since there are different opinions about it.
If you are thinking of visiting the Canary Islands and want to know more about this question, in this article we will give you the answer.
Myths and truths about tap water in the Canary Islands
Currently, can you drink tap water in the Canary Islands? There is a lot of misinformation around this issue that encourages the local population to prefer to buy bottled water instead of using tap water.
The organisms of public health have the primary objective of the sanitary control of water for human consumption. Spanish national legislation and European directives ensure that drinking water is clean and safe, removing or reducing the concentration of microbiological and physical-chemical contaminants that can lead to repercussions for human health.
In accordance with the legislation, public agencies guarantee that you can drink tap water in the Canary Islands. In the archipelago, this liquid is treated by applying the reverse osmosis technique, which is a method of water purification in which a significant part of the salt is removed through semi-permeable membranes.
This type of technological process has been taken as a model in other countries in Europe and in the world. However, after this water treatment has been carried out, it may retain a different taste than bottled water and it may be uncomfortable at the time of consuming it for some people.
Canary water has been subjected to different analyzes following the guidelines of the Health Surveillance Program for Water for Human Consumption of the Canary Islands Government, which according to “Real Decreto 140/2003”, confirms that you can drink tap water in the Canary Islands as it meets the standards of quality.
Is the taste of tap water pleasant in the Canary Islands?
In addition to knowing if you can drink tap water in the Canary Islands, other concerns are whether it tastes good.
Given this question, it is important to note that it may have variations according to the place where it is consumed, since in some municipalities in the Canary Islands it may be slightly more acidic or bitter.
Also, it should be noted that in the midlands the quality of water is usually higher in its chemical sense because it does not have as much salt as occurs in the municipalities that are closer to the coast, where water is obtained from both aquifers and the sea, through desalination processes.
In this sense, although you can drink tap water in the Canary Islands, the inhabitants of the coastal towns buy more bottled water than those who live in municipalities in the midlands which generates that large amounts of the plastic in these containers are accumulating, which do not contribute to the conservation of the environment and have become one of the main problems of concern to the Government of the Canary Islands.
Why is the taste of tap water different in the Canary Islands?
One of the reasons why tap water tastes very different from bottled water is because when it is desalinated it needs to be treated to be fully distilled.
For this, the indications stipulated in the regulations must be followed and minimal amounts of chlorine must be added to minimize the existence of bacteria.
After having undergone these treatments to ensure that you can drink tap water in the Canary Islands, this liquid undergoes a process of remineralization, which allows the excess salt to be removed so that the water has a more palatable taste.
The recommendation before consuming tap water is to let it sit for a while in a jug to reduce its chlorine flavor at the time of drinking it.
Why is it that people consume little tap water in the Canary Islands?
Although you can drink tap water in the Canary Islands without problems, the truth is that in this archipelago the most common is that neither the locals nor visitors will do so.
One of the reasons for this is that there are still doubts about the state of health of the water because for many years the Canary Islands had problems of this nature.
On the other hand, it should also be noted that the taste of water usually causes taste discomforts because it is obtained through a salinization process; In addition, not enough campaigns have been carried out to explain to locals and tourists that you can drink tap water in the Canary Islands without this posing a risk to your health.
The trend is that over time the habit of drinking tap water in the Canary Islands desalinated because that of the aquifers has been decreasing and, even, there are places like Lanzarote that no longer have sources of fresh water consumption and only supply themselves with what has been subjected to these technological treatments.
Where to stay in Gran Canaria or Fuerteventura?
If you have decided to visit Fuerteventura or Gran Canaria, in the Lopesan Group we have hotels with an all-inclusive regime in which we offer unlimited mineral water service at no additional cost.
In our accommodation, you can enjoy excellent bars, restaurants, among other spaces and recreational services to spend a luxury vacation on these wonderful islands. Contact us if you want to know more about our hotel services.
