Environmentalists have named the European countries with the best and worst drinking water quality
The quality of drinking water in Europe varies significantly from country to country. In some countries, tap water meets the highest safety standards, while others face groundwater contamination and treatment problems.
As reported by Euronews, Europe remains the world leader in sanitation, according to a report by the European Commission and the Eco-Performance Index. 19 of the 20 countries with the best conditions for water consumption are located on the European continent. Japan was the only country from another region on the list.
Six countries received the maximum 100 points for the level of protection of human health from dangerous water. These included Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. These countries invest significantly in water infrastructure and guarantee a high level of safety of tap water.
At the same time, the worst situation is observed in the east and south of Europe. The lowest scores were received by Moldova, which has 50 points, Georgia with an indicator of 51.7 points and Albania with 54.1 points. There are problems among the countries of the European Union as well.
Three EU countries were among the ten worst countries on the continent. These are Romania with 56 points, Lithuania with 58.4 points and Latvia with 59.1 points. In these countries, the renovation of treatment facilities is slow.
Water purification requires high costs. Only the fight against nitrates that enter the water through fertilizers costs the European Union 320 billion euros every year. The permissible norm of nitrates is 50 milligrams per liter. At the same time, the European Commission reports that every seventh monitoring station in Europe records an excess of this indicator.
Groundwater provides 65% of the drinking water needs of EU residents. In addition, it provides a quarter of the water for agriculture. However, this resource is now under serious threat.
Researchers from the Water Atlas, created by the Heinrich Boll Foundation, warn of chemical pollution. In Luxembourg, 79% of groundwater has a poor chemical status. In the Czech Republic, this figure is 55%, in Belgium – 41%, and in Germany – 40%.
“About 80% of all wastewater in the world enters water bodies without treatment. The idea that rivers would clean themselves soon turned out to be an illusion: rivers and lakes turned into smelly, toxic cesspools”, scientists say.
A separate threat has become trifluoroacetic acid, or TFA. It was found in 94% of tap water samples in 11 European Union countries. Pesticides also contain the so-called “forever chemicals” – PFAS. They were found in 23,000 places across Europe.
In addition, more than 175 pharmaceutical compounds are found in water, and the environment is additionally affected by microplastics. Since 2022, the EU has begun monitoring substances that disrupt the functioning of the hormonal system. These are beta-estradiol and nonylphenol.
Despite increased control over water quality in the European Union, the state of groundwater sources in many countries remains critical.
