I’ve always been under the childlike impression that my tap water is clean clean, but when thinking about it today I realised that it’s unlikely that tap water is completely sterile, certainly not by the time it reaches my house through miles of pipes. So, just how unsterile can it be and still pass muster with the local government?
If we accept a certain number of rodent hairs or cockroach shells in each helping of our processed foods, I can only imagine what’s considered acceptable when it comes to tap water.
For reference, I’m in N. Ireland, which is, regrettably, the UK. But obviously the island of Ireland is where my water comes from. From this nightmarish swamp, to be precise.
Stay moist, hydrohomos.
Having lived in Ireland for a while (Dublin, to be precise. I’d assume Northern Ireland is similar in terms of water), I can attest that Irish drinking water definitely isn’t clean. But it’s definitely potable.
I’ve lived in Norway most of my life, and the difference in taste is astounding. While drinking water anywhere is rarely sterile, water that needs to be stored for a while needs to be treated, and that’s why the chlorine is added.
Here in rural Norway, the water isn’t treated, as it’s always fresh from the mountain. So I’ve probably drank my fair share of sheep turds over the years, but the concentration is weak enough that it doesn’t matter.
Related: Worst tap water I’ve ever had is Houston. Tastes like chlorinated swamp.