French tap water "has too much lead"

Interesting article in The Connexion today.

I live in a tiny village in the Tarn near Mazamet and our tap water changed a few years ago. Before it was beautiful to drink but now it tastes metallic and of chlorine. When you run the tap it smells like a swimming pool. We never drink it now unless it’s been boiled.

Our to, but ours is pesticide so it’s now filtered to remove pesticide and metals.
It was disgusting to make tea with, leaving a bitter aftertaste.
Boiling won’t remove much so consider a filter (silver and activated charcoal)
Get the water report for your area from Sante’s website and see what it is and whether it complies with WHO limits. Ours doesn’t.

PS, swimming pools don’t smell of chlorine, they smell of chloramines if they smell at all. Far more dangerous than chlorine. Often added to water supplies because of a problem.

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Thank you John. I will have a look.

I note that the article talks about the problems from lead water piping in old houses…such pipes date from a bygone age and should be replaced asap…(as we all know) and I think there may be financial aid to do this, not sure.

All the Water Suppliers are bringing their pipes etc up to date… so there won’t be much lead pipe left on their side of things…good news all round. :grin:

As for the chlorine (or whatever)… sometimes I do notice the smell… in which case I simply leave a jug of water covered with a muslin… and the chlorine (or whatever) disappears after a short while…Thankfully, the smell is not often so strong as to be noticeable… and I would much rather that the bacteria was killed when/where necessary.

This Site is very informative… It shows results from tests done on 2nd November 2017 :grin: and the detail you can obtain is amazing…

http://solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/sante-et-environnement/eaux/article/qualite-de-l-eau-potable

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Hello, I just found this discussion on SF. I’m wondering about water filters:

Who put in the filters mentioned in this discussion, please?

Do we as homeowners install the water filters? If so, did you get recommendations about what kind to get, from the local mairie, SAUR, and/or the water supplier(s)?

I guess, if it was necessary, you would have to install the water filter on your side of the incoming main. You may not need one, generally the water quality is quite good and each supplier should provide you with an analysis each year (They do here anyway).

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Mark, France is a big place, you can’t say “generally the quality is quite good” generally isn’t good enough, permanently good is what is required and unless everyone here is your close neighbour your statement means very little. Our water used to be OK now it’s way over the WHO limits for pesticides.

I work on pools across France and the water varies tremendously from area to area.

I want to remove the chlorine/chloramines/trihalomethanes/pesticides etc just before I drink it so I use a filter. If I were permanently in France I would fit a reverse osmosis filter with a UV lamp, smaller much like what the bottled water companies use when they sell bottled water to numpties.

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Whoever is the local supplier… they have to provide a breakdown of the water content… this is a very detailed document. Lead in your water could well be due to lead pipes in the property. All water suppliers are doing major works to remove lead pipes on their side of things.

Probably there will be a copy of the analysis at the local Mairie … if not, simply ask your Water Supplier to provide one. There is more than likely a Site on the Web… and when I have more time, I will take a look.

I once faxed our supplier complaining about the water (it was brown that day) and saying it was poisoning me… (OK a bit dramatic, but you get the idea). They swiftly faxed me back with the analysis and an explanation of the colour… temporary due to works on the pipes…

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@anon92567933

Mandy… seems we live far enough away from the “dosing” point, so rarely notice the chlorine that goes in nowadays. However, if you fill a jug, slip a cloth (hanky/muslin) over the top and leave it for a few hours… the chlorine seems to disappear and the water tastes OK. This tip was given by someone who lives close to the dosing point… :grin:

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Stella, the Sante water site should be on SFN somewhere as we have covered it before.
In the UK, the lead pipe (Under EU regs) is only replaced if there is a higher than permitted level and or this doesn’t dissapear after running the tap for a prescribed amount of time. The water companies add monochloramine and phosphates to protect their pipe network, whilst these are allowed (because water companies complained the water erodes their pipes otherwise) they are not good for us.

Please see what you can find.

John Withall’s comment about pesticides… is very pertinent.

There are other threads on the forum which discuss pesticides, chemicals and all sorts of stuff…that so many of us use in our daily lives… yes, farmers and all…

Removing the chemicals (or whatever) from the water table is an ongoing struggle and one in which we can all play an important part.

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What happens when you add chlorine to acid?

John… please elaborate your question… you obviously have something in mind…

@MaryW

Mary… work your way through this site… it should open at a map and you can take it from there… It was updated 16th January 2018. Click on your area of the map and it allows you to enter your Commune to get a 2017 latest result.

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Anyone who is worried about their Water can get it tested privately.

It’s some years now… but friends who are on well-water (no main supply)… decided to have theirs tested. We made enquiries and finally found a laboratory where they test all manner of things… fascinating place, nice people.

A container was provided and my friends were advised how to take the sample. We dropped the sample off and the reply came back “OK”… thank heavens (detailed report) and the cost was not exorbitant.

Indeed Stella, We ingest water that is chlorinated and it hits our stomach acid. the reaction is fully contained inside our bodies, the amount of chlorine gas maybe small but over a long period?

Aha… could this be why OH fills the kettle and leaves it overnight… so any chlorine will evaporate and disperse… ??

The problem with some wells is the change over the year (s) farmers spray at different times and so the water quality varies, back to our pesticide laden water. Then the bigger picture, what we don’t consume goes into the oceans and a lot more besides. Why are super bugs resistant to our drugs? Because we provided the excess to allow them to adapt. Silly us, but where does that problem end up a few years from now? Even your thread on getting inoculated, the doses seem to be larger than we need (drug company recommendations, sales based?) the excess we expel in our urine/sweat etc which goes where? back into the water courses and the oceans, once again we provide the mechanism for pathogens to adapt.

Heartily agree John… we may well have made a rod for our own backs… perhaps if we all went back to the simple life… aaah… no… that’s just a pipe dream. :relaxed:

Our water supply is classed as “moyenne” despite living in a lovely rural community. Hubby will not drink it so it’s bottled water for him.