Is it ok to drink the water in Ireland and Scotland?
 

I'll be traveling to those countries in a couple of weeks.

Beer or whisky might taste better, but the water is fine.

are you talking about tap water or lake water? tap water is likely as safe or safer than yours back home.

That's a bit insulting for Scotland, at least - it's not like the UK is some backwater.

Ireland DID have potable tap water issues in Galway due to local problems in that region, but that was over a half-decade ago and resolved IIRC.

Really, the mind boggles.

What do you think they use in the whisky? Nobody, except maybe some moonshiners, would use bad water to make whiskey or beer.

Folks, go easy. Bad water isn't bad water to most of the natives. The question is there enough difference any the water compared to (I assume) American water to cause any issues for the typical traveler. The answer, no. Perhaps the question is a little naive, but no need to get offended or insult.

The worst water I have ever tasted: Oklahoma City
The second worst water: many sites in mid Florida

Haven't been to Ireland, but water in Scotland is generally excellent.

"Folks, go easy. Bad water isn't bad water to most of the natives."

I agree, but it doesn't stop the question "is the water safe in..." feeling like an insult. If I posted the same question on the US board about e.g. New York how well do you think it would be received?

lots of scottish water is bottled and sold - so it can't be too bad.

Also, Indy-dad, if you are making the argument that foreign water is always potentially problematic to non-natives, by virtue of the fact that it is 'different' then the question is surely redundant, as the answer will be 'no' absolutely everywhere.

I'd say, as a Scot, the OP simply is insulting.

If it is a genuine naive post fair enough..... but does anyone really think we are some sort of African backwater with piss poor sewage management and infected water supplies.

As Ann indicates most of the high volume mineral water brands in the UK are sourced and bottled from natural Scottish locations.

Before we have any more patronising posts let us not forget that genetically we (and Ireland) have supplied every US president since Sherman burned Atlanta.

Thank you very much.

During my first trip to Edinburgh 6 years ago, we go to the hard rock cafe because my sister just had to go. Since we were there to get her the hard rock cafe t shirt that she collects, we decide to eat dinner. The waiter comes to take our order and drinks. When he gets to my Mom she orders water. He looked at her and said "ok bottle or tap?". She asks which is better? His reponse "the tap here isn't bad and much better than most places". So she told him fine with her because that's what she drinks at home. Aferward she said it tasted good. She's still alive and healthy so you should be ok in Scotland.

<<but does anyone really think we are some sort of African backwater with piss poor sewage management and infected water supplies.>>

Unfortunately, there are enough of these types of posts, just here on Fodors, let alone who knows where else, to suggest that the answer is yes. And unfortunately, it speaks volumes about the naïvété/ignorance/lack of education of so many Americans. It also smacks of a certain type of American superiority that is really deplorable - everything here must be better than everything anywhere else. Well, we'll soon see about that, but that's another topic.

I always cringe when I read things like this; then I think of how many members of my extended family would probably ask the same thing and cringe again.

The water in Scotland is fine. But under no circumstances should you attempt to eat the food.

Kidding. Food is fine too. The best fish and lamb anywhere.

Like humpty, the question made me wonder whether the OP knows where Scotland is.

I think it is a legitimate question! I would ask the same thing before drinking tap water anywhere. Not because I think it's a backwater country, but because I know that in certain areas of any country, the water is not always very drinkable. Also, my father is a water engineer, and I have grown up my whole life being told that this water is bad, that water is ok etc. Where I live, in New Zealand, there really are areas where the water is undrinkable, and if you don't know this, and the area locals don't tell you, you will end up drinking less-than-ideal water. New Zealand is not a backwater country, but I wouldn't be offended if someone asked me whether or not the water in a particular city was drinkable or not.

humptynumpty wrote "Before we have any more patronising posts let us not forget that genetically we (and Ireland) have supplied every US president since Sherman burned Atlanta."

Is that a proud boast or an abject confession?

<<lots of scottish water is bottled and sold>>

Yeah, water of life.

;-)

UGH, more ignorance of American history.

Sherman didn't burn Atlanta, the Atlantans (and Confederates) did.

Drinking water has to meet the same standards throughout the EU. If you search online you can read all about those standards, and compare them to the US, or Australia or New Zealand or wherever.

One thing to note though is that not all cold water is drinking water. Due to the way water is stored in tanks in some (older) UK homes the water in bathrooms, whilst fine for cleaning one's teeth, probably shouldn't be drunk if it comes from a tank. It is almost certainly as good as water straight from the main, but there is always the slight risk of contamination.

Again, I'm not p****** with Americans, I am not P***** with the poster, who is very probably a lovely person.

I just p****** with the fact that there is an image out there of us being some sort of flea bitten, rancid third world outpost.

"UGH, more ignorance of American history"

I do remember footage of Neil Armstrong reporting live to Richard Nixon about his first steps..... interesting surnames.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._United_States

...actually looks like the roll call at our primary school. thankfully the only name I do not recognise is Bush. He's a Yorkshire twat.

To my mind, this kind of question is not at all meant the way some folks take it. No insults, no assumptions that any place is a third world country, nothing of the sort. There are some cities where the locals drink mostly bottled water because they don't like the taste of the tap water. I was told that in Rome, for instance. I grew up in New York but would not be offended in the least if somebody asked if the water was safe to drink. There are people living in my town in Massachusetts who are convinced the tap water is unpotable.

It's a yes or no question. No value judgments need be involved.

As the Tom Lehrer song once said years ago about visiting California in the USA (the song was called pollution)..."don't drink the water and don't breathe the air."

But then again, you might not wish to try hagis if you knew what goes into it!

There is a big difference between water that is healthy or not - and how the water tastes.

Most countries have some places with very hard water where the tap water doesn't taste very good - and bottled water may be preferred. Being from NY, where the water is very soft and has hardly any taste there are place, like Cincy, where I can't bear either the water or tea made from it - it's very hard, has all sorts of minerals and tastes like dirt (earth - the way your bakyard smells after it rains).

So, where you going that you're so concerned about the water?

"Is it ok to drink the water in Ireland and Scotland?"

Ignorance begets further ignorance...

"And unfortunately, it speaks volumes about the naïvété/ignorance/lack of education of so many Americans. It also smacks of a certain type of American superiority that is really deplorable - everything here must be better than everything anywhere else. Well, we'll soon see about that, but that's another topic."

no don't drink the water bring all that you require for your stay with you.
I have been drinking scottish water most of my life and i am fine.
sorry about writing in crayon but we are not allowed sharp objects in here.

>>>>>>
And unfortunately, it speaks volumes about the naïvété/ignorance/lack of education of so many Americans. It also smacks of a certain type of American superiority that is really deplorable - everything here must be better than everything anywhere else. Well, we'll soon see about that, but that's another topic.

I always cringe when I read things like this; then I think of how many members of my extended family would probably ask the same thing and cringe again.
>>>>>>

being embarrassed of your 'ignorant' and 'uneducated' family has created venom and bitterness in you. so much that you troll these boards seeking out people that you perceive to be like your family members...probably because you can't directly confront your family and tell them exactly how you feel about them so you do it here. no doubt that your family knows how you feel anyway and they likely feel the same way about you. i'm sure they love to constantly hear about your house in france, your lessons on the world, and how you are leaving america because everywhere else is better.

i would suggest that you talk this out with someone because it is not healthy and you will never be happy until you work these issues out.

anyway...

people should know by now that here on fodors, it is in vogue to call america 'third world'. referring to america as 'third world' means that you are 'enlightened', you are cosmopolitan and you are smart and well travelled enough to realise that everything is much better everywhere else.

it's enlightened to fear and loathe america. to be deathly afraid of the crime. the hormones in the beef. the water is horrible. oh and everyone is so uneducated. we britons have been doing this for years but now the 'enlightened' americans are stealing our shtick. what's up with this? damn arianna huffington.

here on this board no american should ever question crime, safety, etc of a country other than the US. if you do, we will feel it is our duty to tell you that you are ignorant for these questions and then say (SLAM DUNK) it's 'probably worse where you live'. this makes us feel so superior. we've taught you a lesson and have helped you see that america is really the 'third world country'.

amazing how consistently this formula plays out on this board.

What will the OP drink if she feels the water is unsafe. We've ruled out whiskey, beer, ale, coffee, tea, concentrated juices. Are soft drinks usually bottled in Scotland or Ireland?

What I'm really laughing about, apart from the responses here, is my image of her once she sees the color of the water in Scotland! Haha.

I would never describe America as a third world country, but too many of the inhabitants are ignoramuses, those in fear of energy-saving lightbulbs for instance.

well, she's pretty much never going to ask another question here, is she. And if it IS ignorance and all that stuff, what a GREAT way to encourage her to ask questions to be come less ignorant. Not good, maybe. But hey... nobody died.

Water fine, heymom. Natives friendly. I hope you have a nice trip

Some places mark the tap water as DO NOT DRINK. this is to cover them in case someone gets ill not because there is anything wrong. Some places have dedicated filtered taps marked DRINKING WATER. All water kept in tanks is legally subject to testing for Legionnaires and the like, mains water is treated chemically and tested twice weekly. Our water is group scheme drown from an underground lake and distributed to about 60 houses and 20 farms. Typical of rural Ireland and perfectly safe (if a little "hard"). Bottled water is readily available at low cost for anyone feint hearted.

....well let's put it this way...(PS I'm American)...many many Americans are indeed very unknowing, perhaps that's the best word, of what happens as soon as one leaves the USA because of the bastness of the country and the fact that traveling beyond our shores in not an every day occurrance as it might be for somebody from Europe/ They don't realize, for example, that a USS dollar isn't supposed to be necessarily usable in Europe (although I understand that some countries do use the US dollar as their currency such as Ecuador) as all their lives they've been able to go say from New York to Miami and they're still in the same country. To them, anything the USA does is superior. They don't want to hear that other countries do things differently. Tell many Americans that 99.9% of the world uses the much more logical Celsius thermometer and they fall to pieces. I've been too many places where when they are told it's 15 degrees outside, they have no idea what that means. Tell them petrol costs £1.39/liter, they don't have a clue. These are all things where the USA is just resistant to joining the rest of the civilized world. We've had countless threads here about the use of emv chip and pin credit cards something that nobody can claim doesn't cut down a bit on fraud. While that's probably a bottom line decision on the part of the banks, it still inconveniences many Americans when they travel abroad and when their credit cards don't work in a machine, they blame it on the different ways Europeans and others do things

It's just part of the national psyche Americans are fed from early in life that everything is better here than anywhere else in the world. Our health care is better. Our highway system is better. Our water is better. And if you don't like it here, move somewhere else. I'm sure that's true to a degree everywhere but I really think it's to a degree exagerated here. And it does lead to the types of questions that some here consider ignorant but I would more properly characterize as naive.

And the worst place I've ever had for tap water is Orlando. While I'm sure the water is safe, its taste is ugh. The best tasting tap water I've ever hsd is in New York City and Sofia in Bulgaria. There has to be some sort of reason why Bulgaria, per capita, has more octogenerians than any other country in the world. Some claims it is the water (others claim it's the yogurt).

Sorry -

It's more than that. It's a group of people who are fearful of everything (you should hear the questions we get about New York) and grab onto a variety of extreme religions or beliefs (they aren't philosophies) in their general fear of the world outside their own backyard.

I once had a cab driver (going from downtown Cincy to the airport) try to stop me from going to New York - since it was owned by the devil. He informed me that the devil lived on Fifth Ave, under a building with a big 666 (the devil's numbers) on it. And the poor man was serious. I was sitting in the back alone, trying to reach someone on my cell phone - so they would know where I had been last if I disappeared. (I wasn't about to tell the poor deluded/mentally ill driver that what was under 666 Fifth Ave was not the devil but a major stop for the E and F trains.)

Do you wonder that there are people think they can't drink the water anyplace but home? I'm just always amazed that they gather the courage to leave their hometown.

One of the problems with water around the world is the varying mineral content, this can upset the old tum sometimes.
We were always brought up not to drink water in Spain, for this reason, even to avoid ice in drinks.
Nothing wrong with the water there, just minerals are different.


Muck

Last time I was in Scotland I drank 12 beers one night. I drank 6 glasses of water before I went to bed. I barfed all night.

There is a 33% chance the water in Scotland is bad.

All I can add to this is, as a British born and raised, and, having lived the last 40 years in the U.S. and having visited (not on tours) every continent except Australiasia/NZ, I feel terrible at how so many of you would attack someone for asking a simple question.
Perhaps I am a little "gun shy" as I was going on a visit to S.Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe as a volunteer in a Not for profit organization (30 years ago) and, whilst in Holland,on my way there, visiting with a lot of Dutch women who were a part of the organisation I was representing, I made some comment/question about malaria and the water, and was hit by a barrage of the same type of vennom from a couple of Dutch people saying the only time THEY got sick was from drinking tap water in New York.
After reading the responses to this posters question I would imagine she is having second thoughts about visiting - I know I would.

I was married to my U.S. Husband in Scotland 40 years ago, (I'm from the Cotswolds in the U.K.) and want to tell the poster that the Scottish people were the most friendly and warm people I have ever met in all my world travels. Please don't let the nasty comments here make you have second thoughts about your trip. Go and enjoy.
Sue

I live in Florida and you would spit out my water, it is horrid unless it goes through a water softener. I have well water. I know some people don't like it even then. I have had some bad tasting water but not unsafe water in the UK. There are many countries that I would not drink their water but Ireland and Scotland are not one of them. I don't like hard water and find that many hotels have that in the UK and Ireland. You can't get your hair to lather up. I just take some bottle water and rinse my hair with it and feels ok. We lived in Canada and our water would fizzle, so many natural minerals in it.

FLPAB is correct. Some of the water in Florida is so bad smelling that (and I'm not kidding here) you can walk into a restaurant and actually smell the sulphur in it. Other than a very few places, it pretty much tastes like crap.

Here, you will often get a glass of ice tea and want to yack it tastes so bad.

And before anyone gets snooty about me bashing Florida, I was born and live in Florida and my family came here in the early 1800s, so I have a bit of authority on this matter, 200 years of authority.

dave

to the OP: I think it is quite safe to drink the water.