All you scientific types can help solve an argument. My friend is adamant that one should never drink the water in a foreign country. On previous European trips, I have always drunk the local tap water with no problem. My justification is that no place in Western Europe is a Third World country, so if you drip tap in the US, you can drink it there. My friend thinks otherwise. I'll be going to Italy in a couple of weeks. Should I take my reusable water bottle and just fill it as I go from whatever water is available, or should I spend lots of euros on bottled water.

Drink the water. Save yourself money and help save the planet from all those plastic bottles too.

>My friend thinks otherwise.

So let him/her think it - s/he can buy bottled water if s/he insists.

>I'll be going to Italy in a couple of weeks. Should I take my reusable water bottle and just fill it as I go from whatever water is available, or should I spend lots of euros on bottled water.

I am not sure about places like rural Sicily or old town cenetrs like Naples - you often have old piping that can give water a particular taste.

In any newish building, just use the tap water.

Actually the water from the tap may be better quality than what you slurp back home - many European cities use the Ozonization process of water purification that is deemed superior i believe than most treatment methods in the US.

That said in old buildings with ancient plumbing in say hotels that may have lead pipes or whatever can make even the purest water a tad less than pure.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/...2:0054:EN:-pDF

That clarifies the matter for each member state of the European Union.

When I'm in Italy I drink untreated water flowing straight from the spigots at many public fountains. Cool, refreshing, and free. I fill up my reusable water bottle there as well.

My favorite is drinking straight from the sunken ship fountain at the Spanish Steps.

Bottled drinking water isn't expensive so your friend is free buy plastic bottles, and you can fill up as you go.

Public fountains aren't as ubiquitous in Florence or Venice, but the tap water is fine to drink all over Italy.

Why not help the economy? Bottled water is 300 times more expensive than tap water, and it keeps the recycling industry busy, too.

No yes or no answer.
Drinking water is unlikely to kill you in Europe. However, drinking or eating in a foreigner country may cause you problems, because you are not used to the exposure of local bacterial flora (the natives are).
If drinking tap water is a cause for concern or stress to you go for it. Where I live, a bottled 1.5 liter of water may cost .12 or .15 euro cents in a supermarket. It's necessary to drink a lot to spend a lot of euros.

In Rome, the public fountains (not the ornamental ones) have some of the purest drinking water around. Refill your bottles there rather than in your hotel.

In restaurants, they can legally refuse to give you tap water, although most of them will give it to you.

Before American posters continue repeating prejudices about bacteria in European tap water, I sum up the most important quality requirements for tap water in European countries:

Escherichia coli: 0 per 100 ml
Enterococci: 0 per 100 ml

Everything clear now?

Drink the water. It certainly tastes better than the water I get at home from my tap.

Tap water in Western Europe is totally drinkable. I was weirded out by the Roman idea of water fountains at first, but I never got sick while I was there. Mexico, on the other hand....

<<My friend is adamant that one should never drink the water in a foreign country.>>

YIKES!! I would not want to travel with this person. It sounds like he thinks once you leave our borders is every other country is unsanitary. Sadly I have known people like that too.

While there are some parts of the world where I would not drink the water, there is no part of Western Europe where that applies. I always drink the water in Western Europe and I never got sick.

I hope your friend never comes to Washington, DC.

Honestly, where do people get these notions? Hellloooooo, the Romans invented acqueducts to bring pure, clean water all over the country. Sheesh.

Let your friend spend a boodle of euros on water. You can buy cornetti and gelati.

I always drink bottled water when I travel, doesn't matter the destination. My thinking is that my vacation time is already plenty expensive and way too precious to take a chance getting sick. I'm also careful with what I eat. This is nothing specific to Italy. And it's not always about something being "bad" rather than it's different than your body is used to at home.

Your friend is a dope.

Western Euro water is almost universally fine. The only water I'd be leery of was what we had in Santorini and it's been 9 years so even the Greeks may have a better purification process by now.

And your friend also ought to know, if s/he has such vast stores of knowledge, that REI and similar stores sell bottles and purification systems that will end up being way cheaper than a bunch of 1.50E bottles each day and can be used in countries where you should NOT drink the water (*cough*Mexico*cough*).

Echnaton, in the link you provided, page 14:

Note 1: The water should not be aggressive.

Page 20

Note 1 (*): Trueness is the systematic error

Why not? Unless you are drinking directly from the stream it is probably cleaner than your hometown brew.

I think it depends on the person. Some people have iron stomaches some people dont't. I have drank tap water all over the world, no problem. My husband on the other hand has about 4 days tops on tap water, then - no good. We get aorund it by buying bottleled water. Everyone is happy, we keep on the road.

To continue I have a thery that if you ate alot of dirt as a child you can handle everything. If your mom was a clean freak you have a problem with dirt and bugs.

No - you can't ust dring the water anywere. Tap water is almost always fine - althouhg frequently it has an odd taste. But there are places you should NOT refill water bottles - including many of the fountains (the water in which may not be treated/fitered - and is not drinkable at all). Water from your hotel tap shold be fine though - unless you are one of the unlucky few with a sensitive tummy upset by any waer but your own.