Depending on the district, Parisians benefit from a mixture of groundwater and drinkable river water. Whatever its source, the water that comes out of the taps, “l’eau de Paris” is of excellent quality, everywhere in the Ville Lumière. The water distributed is rigorously and permanently monitored, and its traceability is total.
Paris water complies with the 56 drinking water parameters defined by the Public Health Code within the framework of European standards, which form the highest sanitary quality standard in the world. It does not present any risk to the health of a person who would consume it throughout his or her life. Every year, more than one million quality measurements are carried out to ensure health monitoring and guarantee the impeccable quality of the water supplied to Parisians' taps.
PARISIAN WATER IS SUBJECT TO SEVERAL TYPES OF CONTROLS:
- health control carried out by an independent laboratory on behalf of the State: the summary of the results is published every month by the Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency. It is available at the town hall of your district, or above.
- health monitoring carried out by the Eau de Paris (water of Paris). The Eau de Paris laboratory carries out analyses several times a day (or even hourly) throughout the circuit: sampling in the natural environment, treatment, transport, distribution, user tap. Eau de Paris also continuously monitors the level of chlorine present in the water circulating in the network. This means that the water arriving at your home is rigorously monitored and complies in every respect with public health standards.
THE ORIGIN OF TAP WATER IN PARIS
Depending on the district, Parisians benefit from a mixture of groundwater and drinkable river water. Whatever its origin, Paris water naturally contains mineral salts, notably calcium and magnesium. Eau de Paris is a drink to be drunk without moderation by everyone, including the elderly, pregnant women and children from a very young age... The diversity of power supply is precious, it guarantees a continuous supply of the capital: in the event of an exceptional incident on one of the sources of supply (pollution, broken pipes, etc.), the others take over to cover the shortfall.
WATER COMPONENTS
CALCIUM OR LIMESTONE?
The daily consumption of one litre of water covers 15 to 25% of daily calcium requirements. Dissolved in water, it is well absorbed and assimilated by the body. Present in cold water, calcium turns into limestone from 60°C onwards. To limit the deposit of limescale, set your water heater at a temperature between 55 and 60°C. When water is hard, it is said to be hard. The tap water in Paris, which has a limescale content of 20 to 30 °f (French degrees), is moderately hard.
MAGNESIUM
Magnesium is essential for nervous and muscular balance. The body does not store magnesium. It therefore requires a daily and regular intake. L’Eau de Paris contributes to this.
FLUOR
Fluoride helps protect teeth from cavities. But, in high doses, it is toxic. With a very low level of fluoride, Paris water can be drunk without danger by everyone and especially by children who need a fluoride supplement
SODIUM
Sodium is necessary to maintain the body's water balance and for the proper functioning of muscles and nerves. Too much sodium can damage the kidneys and increase the risk of high blood pressure. On average, Eau de Paris contains 10 mg/l of sodium. It is therefore suitable for people on a low-salt diet whose sodium level must be less than 20 mg/l.
NITRATES
Nitrates are naturally present in many foods (deli meats, vegetables, fruits, etc.). Excessive consumption of nitrates - especially by infants and young children - has health drawbacks, especially if they break down into nitrites in the body. The quality standard (50 mg/l), of European origin, conditions the potability of the water. It was determined on the basis of a prevention principle to protect the quality of resources used for drinking water supply and taking into account the various sources of dietary exposure. Largely below the standard, Paris water, with a content varying from 20 to 38 mg/l during the year, therefore presents no risk in terms of nitrates. It can be drunk without any health risk all year round.
L'EAU DE PARIS: A HIGHLY CONTROLLED FOOD PRODUCT
Paris water complies with the 56 drinking water parameters defined by the Public Health Code within the framework of European standards, which form the highest sanitary quality standard in the world. It does not present any risk to the health of a person who would consume it throughout his or her life. Since January 2010, the Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency (ARS) has organised the capital into four distribution units (UDI), each corresponding to a homogeneous water quality zone. Within this framework, drinking water is subject to two different but closely complementary types of control.
Mandatory sanitary control is carried out by the ARS, which has sampling and analysis carried out by an approved laboratory and consolidates the results before disseminating a summary. The results obtained in 2017 are 100% conformity for the bacteriological quality (search for bacteria such as enterococci or Escherichia coli) and 100% conformity for the physico-chemical quality (composition of the water, presence of lead, pesticides, etc.).
For its part, Eau de Paris ensures self-monitoring of quality. Every year, no less than one million measurements are carried out.
