Tapwater Switzerland: Quality & Ingredients

Q: Muss man das Trinkwasser in der Schweiz filtern?

In principle, you do not have to filter Tapwater in Switzerland. However, as certain limits are exceeded at least occasionally, you can play it safe with a drinking water filter . This cleans the water of unwanted pollutants and ensures clean drinking water.

Q: Wie ist die Badewasserqualität in der Schweiz?

Swiss bathing waters are consistently of good quality . The EAA rated 82.5% of bathing waters as excellent in 2021 [10]. This puts Switzerland roughly in the middle of the field in a direct country comparison.

Switzerland is known for its good chocolate, cheese, watches and knives. But what about drinking water? Can you drink Tapwater in Switzerland? We get to the bottom of this question.

In this article you will find out...

... whether you can drink Tapwater in Switzerland,
... which pollutants may be contained in Swiss water,
... which minerals the drinking water in Switzerland contains
... and where the Swiss Tapwater comes from.

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Updated on: 06.03.2023

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Is Tapwater drinkable in Switzerland?

According to the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office, drinking water in Switzerland is of good quality¹. Drinking water quality is regulated by the FDHA Ordinance on Drinking Water and Water in Publicly Accessible Baths and Showers² .

Nevertheless, you should not drink drinking water in Switzerland without hesitation. This is because, as in this country, limit values are repeatedly exceeded. In addition, waterworks in Switzerland are not designed to reliably filter substances such as hormones, medicines or pesticides out of the water. You can read more about this in our Guidebook on the topic of "Why filter water?".

Incidentally, Tapwater in Switzerland has a far better environmental footprint than mineral water ³ . Even mineral water that comes directly from Switzerland has an average CO₂ footprint 1500 times greater than Tapwater.

Tip

Would you like to know the actual quality of your local drinking water? In this interactive map, you can enter the desired location directly and obtain detailed information on Swiss water.

Drinking water quality in Switzerland in detail

The Tapwater in Switzerland is regularly monitored. The current report currently covers water quality from 2019-2021⁴. During this period, a total of 211 events were reported by the various cantons in which certain limit values were minimally exceeded and measures had to be initiated. The events are as follows:

Faecal contamination due to storms, heavy rain and flooding
Chemical impurities including arsenic and nitrate
Contamination by pesticides such as bentazone, mecoprop and chlorothalonil degradation products

The groundwater is also being examined as part of this report. The situation here is somewhat more problematic. Particularly in heavily agricultural areas, Switzerland frequently has to contend with exceedances of nitrate and pesticides. However, this has not yet had a major impact on the quality of drinking water in Switzerland.

Elevated arsenic levels

Switzerland is repeatedly discredited for having elevated arsenic levels. As a result, the limit value was lowered from 50 µg per liter to 10 µg in 2014 on the recommendation of the WHO.

In fact, only 0.08% of the population was affected by limit value exceedances during the reporting period. Overall, arsenic levels in Switzerland are relatively low. Problems only occur occasionally in the cantons of Graubünden, Ticino and Valais⁵.

Chlorothalonil and its degradation products

Recently, the pesticide chlorothalonil, which is classified as carcinogenic, has been increasingly discussed in connection with Swiss water. This fungicide has been used since the 1970s and has been banned since January 2020.

Its metabolites (degradation products) in particular are increasingly found in drinking water⁶. Since the end of 2019, a precautionary very low concentration of 0.1 µg/l has applied as the limit value. It is assumed that around 1 million inhabitants are supplied with drinking water that exceeds this limit.

However, this does not pose an immediate danger , as this value is far below the toxicological limit ⁷. The so-called ADI value (Acceptable Daily Intake) describes the amount of a substance that a person can consume daily for a lifetime without having to fear health consequences. For chlorothalonil, this value is 15 µg/kg body weight per day. This is well above the legal limit.

Example

For an adult person weighing 70 kg, the ADI value is a total of 1050 µg (70 kg x 15 µg). Assuming a very high drinking water load of 10 µg of chlorothalonil metabolites per liter of water, this person would have to consume 105 liters of water per day for the rest of their life to reach the ADI (1050 µg ÷ 10 µg).

Tapwater Switzerland: Mineral content

Tapwater contains a range of different minerals and trace elements. This provides our body with important minerals and maintains its functions.

The actual mineral content of drinking water in Switzerland varies from region to region and is subject to fluctuations. For example, the following values are available for Tapwater in Zurich ⁸.

Mineral substance	Mean value
Calcium	52.2 mg/l
Magnesium	7.6 mg/l
Hydrogen carbonate	179 mg/l
Sodium	5.4 mg/l
Potassium	1.2 mg/l
Chloride	5.9 mg/l
Nitrate	4.4 mg/l
Sulphate	14.7 mg/l
Silicic acid	3.8 mg/l
Fluoride	0.07 mg/l

Swiss water: where does it come from?

With around 1500 lakes, numerous streams and rivers and its glaciers, Switzerland has a very large water reservoir. It is not for nothing that it is often referred to as the water castle of Europe.

The Swiss obtain 80% of their drinking water from groundwater and spring water and 20% from surface water such as lakes and rivers. The water is ultimately distributed with the help of an approx. 93,400 km long drinking water pipeline network.

Drinking Tapwater in Switzerland?

For the most part, drinking water in Switzerland is of relatively good quality. The occasional exceedances of numerous pesticides and other pollutants have so far remained within limits and are not yet classified as hazardous to health. However, if you want to be on the safe side, you can already use a drinking water filter so that you don't have to compromise on water quality.

FAQs on Tapwater in Switzerland

Do you have to filter drinking water in Switzerland?

Tapwater in Switzerland is of good quality. As certain limits are exceeded at least occasionally, you can play it safe with a drinking water filter. This cleans the water of unwanted pollutants and ensures clean drinking water. Nowadays, there are countless chemical compounds and pollutants in water that can no longer be tested and monitored for cost reasons.

Can you drink from Swiss fountains?

The majority of Swiss wells are of drinking water quality and are strictly controlled. Exceptions are wells with the sign "No drinking water". However, there is always a certain risk!

Can you drink the water in Zurich?

The drinking water in Zurich is of good quality and is generally safe to drink. This was recently confirmed by the Director of Health Natalie Rickli⁹. Nevertheless, limit values may occasionally be exceeded in the water.

What is the quality of bathing water in Switzerland?

Swiss bathing waters are consistently of good quality. The EAA rated 82.5% of bathing waters as excellent in 2021 [10]. This puts Switzerland roughly in the middle of the field in a direct country comparison.