Depending on the district, Parisians benefit from a mixture of groundwater and potable river water. Whatever its source, the water that comes out of our taps, "Paris water", is of excellent quality throughout the City of Light. The water we distribute is subject to rigorous, ongoing monitoring, and is fully traceable. Paris water complies with the 56 potability parameters defined by the French Public Health Code and European standards, which represent the highest level of sanitary quality in the world. It poses no risk to the health of any person who consumes it throughout his or her life. Every year, more than a million quality measurements are carried out to ensure the irreproachable quality of the water supplied to Parisians' taps.
PARIS WATER IS SUBJECT TO SEVERAL TYPES OF CONTROL:
- sanitary controls carried out by an independent laboratory on behalf of the French government: a summary of the results is published monthly by the Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency. It is available at your local town hall or above.
- Health monitoring by Eau de Paris. The Eau de Paris laboratory carries out analyses several times a day (or even hourly) throughout the water supply chain: sampling from the natural environment, treatment, transport, distribution and the user's tap. Eau de Paris also constantly monitors the chlorine content of the water circulating in the network. In this way, the water that reaches you is rigorously controlled and complies in every respect with public health standards.
WHERE PARIS TAP WATER COMES FROM
Depending on the district, Parisians benefit from a mixture of groundwater and potable river water. Whatever its origin, Paris water naturally contains mineral salts, notably calcium and magnesium. Eau de Paris is a beverage to be enjoyed without moderation by all, including the elderly, pregnant women and children from an early age... The diversity of our supply sources is invaluable, guaranteeing a continuous supply to the capital: in the event of an exceptional incident at one of our supply sources (pollution, burst pipe, etc.), the others take over to cover the shortfall.
THE COMPONENTS OF WATER
- CALCIUM OR LIMESTONE?
The daily consumption of one liter 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 is transformed into limestone at 60°C and above. To limit limescale deposits, set your water heater to a temperature between 55 and 60°C. When water is hard, it is said to be chalky. Tap water in Paris, with 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 needs to be supplied on a regular, daily basis. Eau de Paris contributes to this.
- FLUOR
Fluoride helps protect teeth against cavities. But in high doses, it is toxic. With its very low fluoride content, Eau de Paris is safe to drink for everyone, especially children who need extra fluoride.
- SODIUM
Sodium is necessary for maintaining the body's water balance and for the proper functioning of muscles and nerves. Excess sodium can damage the kidneys and increase the risk of high blood pressure. Eau de Paris contains an average of 10 mg/l of sodium. It is therefore suitable for people on a low-sodium diet, whose sodium level should be less than 20 mg/l.
- NITRATES
Nitrates are naturally present in many foods (cold meats, vegetables, fruit, etc.). Excessive consumption of nitrates - especially by infants and young children - is detrimental to health, especially if they break down into nitrites in the body. The quality standard (50 mg/l), of European origin, determines the potability of water. It has been determined on the basis of a preventive principle aimed at protecting the quality of resources used for drinking water supply, and taking into account the various sources of dietary exposure. Well below the standard, Paris water, whose content varies from 20 to 38 mg/l over the course of the year, therefore presents no risk in terms of nitrates. It can be drunk without risk to health all year round.
PARIS WATER: A HIGHLY CONTROLLED FOOD PRODUCT
Paris water complies with the 56 potability parameters defined by the French Public Health Code, in line with European standards, which represent the highest level of sanitary quality in the world. It presents no risk to the health of anyone who consumes it throughout their life. Since January 2010, the Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency (ARS) has organized 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.
Compulsory sanitary control is carried out by the ARS, which arranges for sampling and analysis to be carried out by an approved laboratory, and consolidates the results before issuing a summary report. The results obtained in 2017 were 100% compliant for bacteriological quality (testing for bacteria such as enterococci or Escherichia coli) and 100% compliant for physico-chemical quality (water composition, presence of lead, pesticides, etc.).
For its part, Eau de Paris carries out self-monitoring of water quality. Every year, no fewer than one million measurements are taken.
