The Walloon Minister for the Environment, Carlo Di Antonio, “firmly denied” on Tuesday information suggesting tap water could be a risk to consumer health.
The minister stated, somewhat annoyed in a communiqué, “Walloon tap water is of excellent quality across the entire territory, and the consumed product subject to the most stringent controls.”
Le Soir referred on Tuesday to an impact report by the European Commission establishing that, in Belgium, 8% of the population had been exposed in 2015 to health risks linked to the water they had drunk. However the daily publication shares doubts of players in the sector on the Commission’s methodology, whilst drawing attention to the poor state of repair of part of the Walloon pipeline network.
Minister Di Antonio mentioned, “Before reaching our taps, tap water must meet no less than 48 quality parameters.” The results conclude that there is a tap water compliance rate for mandatory parameters of 99.71%. He adds that the remaining 0.29% which is non-compliant does not mean, for all that, a level of contamination leading to it being unfit to drink or a health risk. It perhaps has, for example, a slightly higher level of iron than is considered normal.
Since 2015, the Walloon region and its water companies have invested €250 million to both maintain and increase the “very high” standards of accessibility, and the quality of water distributed, including pipe repairs. There is also future investment anticipated in the system.
