Drinking water in Malta

There are household filtration systems that are supposed to remove nitrates using reverse osmosis but the cost may be a limiting factor for most people. You would have to balance the cost and filter element replacement against the amount of bottled water you could purchase for the same amount of money.

Wrongholebutherewego wrote:

I'm confused by the answers in this thread. You say the tap water is fit to drink, but when you do some research Malta has the highest nitrate concentration in the water in all of EU. At some places 8 times higher than the EU limit.

The latest analysis I could find that illustrates your concerns were produced in 2009 and indicate from different area samples this:

Nitrates mg/l NO3 - 70.4  29.5  28.6  99.9  61.7  72.7

Full analysis report may be found here:
http://mra.org.mt/wp-content/uploads/20 … ust-09.pdf

One site states this:

The maximum safe level of nitrate-nitrogen in drinking water is 10 milligrams per liter (commonly written as "mg/l, and synonymous with "parts per million"). The equivalent of 10 milligrams of nitrate-nitrogen, expressed as NO3 nitrate, is 50 mg/l. Levels above this can affect an adult, and could potentially lead to a fatal blood disorder in infants under six months of age.

Both the World Health Organization of the United Nations, and US and state regulations, recommend a MAXIMUM nitrate-nitrogen level no higher than 10 mg/l.

I am not surprised given the apparent disregard that Maltese farmers and other food producers seem to have with regard to the chemicals they use on their crops.
To be safe, only drink bottled water.

The EU Directive regarding this issue may be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/pubs/pd … trates.pdf

In comparison the bottled water from Lidl (Saguaro) gives a level of less than 1.0 mg/l for nitrates and the Pellegrini botteled water contains 2.6 mg/l nitrates.

I've taken this statement from the WSC annual report  2011 ( last available) :

The nitrate concentration in our local groundwater has continued to increase over recent years, causing the WSC to increase the
blending ratio of RO water to groundwater. This has enabled the corporation to supply water with a nitrate level as low as 50mg/L.

A quite interesting statement considering the EU nitrates groundwater directive.

Quoting ' as low as ' means that usually nitrates are way beyound the limits !

Cheers
Ricky

Hmm, 50mg/L is the 'trigger level' of concern. They are obviously putting their 'spin' on it.
San Michel, our bulk drinking water is 15mg/L and is treated 'town' water.
our smaller bottles (bedside/travel) Kristal is <1.8mg/L

San Michel analysis:  http://www.sanmichel.com/page.asp?p=16995&l=1

redmik wrote:

Wrongholebutherewego wrote:

I'm confused by the answers in this thread. You say the tap water is fit to drink, but when you do some research Malta has the highest nitrate concentration in the water in all of EU. At some places 8 times higher than the EU limit.

The latest analysis I could find that illustrates your concerns were produced in 2009 and indicate from different area samples this:

Nitrates mg/l NO3 - 70.4  29.5  28.6  99.9  61.7  72.7

Full analysis report may be found here:
http://mra.org.mt/wp-content/uploads/20 … ust-09.pdf

One site states this:

The maximum safe level of nitrate-nitrogen in drinking water is 10 milligrams per liter (commonly written as "mg/l, and synonymous with "parts per million"). The equivalent of 10 milligrams of nitrate-nitrogen, expressed as NO3 nitrate, is 50 mg/l. Levels above this can affect an adult, and could potentially lead to a fatal blood disorder in infants under six months of age.

Both the World Health Organization of the United Nations, and US and state regulations, recommend a MAXIMUM nitrate-nitrogen level no higher than 10 mg/l.

I am not surprised given the apparent disregard that Maltese farmers and other food producers seem to have with regard to the chemicals they use on their crops.
To be safe, only drink bottled water.

The EU Directive regarding this issue may be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/pubs/pd … trates.pdf

Those numbers are actually comforting as the report I read showed as high as 400mg/l.

Do you guys know how common it is for restaurants to use local vegetables or how bad local vegetables might be nitrate wise?

Local vegetables are more often used than not.
Without having a testing kit and testing everything on my plate - no.
At my age there are more important things for me to consider.

Serious question and excuse me for asking it but............... is this all a wind up?

Most places use fresh local ingredients in fact you will often see the vegetable trucks taking the veg to the restaurant ... I think you will be hard pushed to find places that don't apart from fast food chain restaurants

http://www.agric.gov.mt/info_nitrates

This might give you an idea to
What Malta has been doing to combat and comply with eu directive on nitrates - maybe you might want to email some questions to them or to the dept of health

As far as i know, the high nitrate concentrations are in ground water, because of farming (use of fertilizers, sludge), making 13 of the 15 aquifers in Malta unfit for use.

Tap water however comes from desalinized seawater. Although some people get drinking water from the "bowsers", which i suppose would be groundwater, which they are selling as drinking water although there are indications that it's not suitable for that.

Kristal and other brands of "table water" are in fact processed table water. If you want "natural" water, you have to go for mineral bottled water.

I know some people with reverse osmosis systems at home, the water tastes really good but it is really wasteful as one third of the water is rejected (if it's redirected to the well and you use your well, it's fine, if not it's incredibly wasteful).

nilonilonilo wrote:

As far as i know, the high nitrate concentrations are in ground water, because of farming (use of fertilizers, sludge), making 13 of the 15 aquifers in Malta unfit for use.

Tap water however comes from desalinized seawater. Although some people get drinking water from the "bowsers", which i suppose would be groundwater, which they are selling as drinking water although there are indications that it's not suitable for that.

Kristal and other brands of "table water" are in fact processed table water. If you want "natural" water, you have to go for mineral bottled water.

I know some people with reverse osmosis systems at home, the water tastes really good but it is really wasteful as one third of the water is rejected (if it's redirected to the well and you use your well, it's fine, if not it's incredibly wasteful).

To be honest I don't know what ground water is. So you are saying tap water does not have a high nitrate concentration?

I just don't want to eat too much nitrates that's all. That's why I'm curious about numbers etc.

Ground water: the water that seeps into the ground (e.g. rainwater) and forms aquifers. Normally aquifers can be exploited for drinking water, but not in Malta due to the high nitrate levels. (And besides the groundwater levels are declining sharply because of bad water management. The water scarcity index in Malta is extremely high.)

As far as I know, all tap water comes from desalinization. It tastes slightly salty, not sure about the nitrate levels in it.

Well, then this changes everything. Apart from vegetables possibly being polluted what is bad about the ground water having a high nitrate concentration?

Damn, this is just getting trickier and trickier.

Wrongholebutherewego wrote:

Damn, this is just getting trickier and trickier.

No it isn't, it's simples. Drink bottled water, prepare all your own food and grow your own.
Buy your own food, fresh, frequently and exercise carrying it home.
You can also carry your own air mix too.

redmik wrote:

i

Wrongholebutherewego wrote:

Damn, this is just getting trickier and trickier.

No it isn't, it's simples. Drink bottled water, prepare all your own food and grow your own.
Buy your own food, fresh, frequently and exercise carrying it home.
You can also carry your own air mix too.

Why do you have to be a wise guy? I make my own decisions. If you can't answer my questions or give directions to someone who can then why even bother writing something? Maybe you just wanted to pull a joke, but it just seemed ignorant.

It is tricky, because now I first of all need to figure out where the tap water comes from. Also I'm interested in why nitrates in the ground water is a concern. I like knowing things. Nothing beats knowledge. I'll do some extensive research once I have my comp but right now I'm only on my phone which is a pain.

Meanwhile someone else actually might contribute with their knowledge.

As I explained I have a sense of humour.
Maybe lost in interpretation.
I think I have tried to help you.
Have you not read all my previous responses?

redmik wrote:

As I explained I have a sense of humour.
Maybe lost in interpretation.
I think I have tried to help you.
Have you not read all my previous responses?

It's ok I have but don't know which was yours. As I said I'm on my phone and I'm not used to that so haven't kept track on who wrote what. I am indeed thankful for your help redmik.

Hey guys, I arrived in Malta with my family today, we landed at 7pm, 40mins early :-). We're staying in Balluta bay for 4 weeks until we find our own place. My partner was telling the children to not even use the tap water to brush there teeth, surely that's not right, or is it? I just came across this post and thought I'd ask? Thanks Samx

Water is one of the tricky problems in Malta, but I just never drink tap water, I mean, you don't have to be an expert or a professor to tell that the water tastes awful, and that most probably means something bad (although maybe in very new houses with clean pipes the taste is good, I don't know, in my house built in the 1990s is definitely not).

Before when I got to my first house in Malta, we didn't even use the tap water to cook pasta, as it gave a bad taste. Now in this house we use it for cooking, as we do not tell any difference.

About the bottled water, I think the best is Aqua Azzurra, curiously one of the cheapest also. Do not try Fontana, it's very similar to the tap water, and I don't buy the one with green bottle that they sell in Piscopo, tastes very strange too. Krystal, San Michel, H2Only and Aqua Vita are average in my opinion.

It feels strange to buy desalinized bottled water, but well, that's one of the strange things on Malta.

My partner was telling the children to not even use the tap water to brush there teeth, surely that's not right, or is it?

Not taking sides here. 
My wife only uses bottled water to clean teeth, I use the tap water.
Simply a matter of taste.

isnt it all a matter of taste.....

i could tell the difference if tap water was used to make tea but my wife couldnt tell in her coffee... i could even smell the difference..

its heavy in minerals usually...

we never ever drank tap water unless we filtered it  - in fact all our water was filtered.. whether by jug or by one of those under sink units.. and i still do the same here...

Samantha oreilly wrote:

Hey guys, I arrived in Malta with my family today, we landed at 7pm, 40mins early :-). We're staying in Balluta bay for 4 weeks until we find our own place. My partner was telling the children to not even use the tap water to brush there teeth, surely that's not right, or is it? I just came across this post and thought I'd ask? Thanks Samx

If your staying in a hotel , it's probably wise not to drink the water , most of the water in many hotels is desalinated and pumped into the hotel from a big tanker daily , in fact most hotel usually have signs about drinking the water - however if your just cleaning your teeth this really won't cause that much damage .

As for the tap water in houses I don't like the taste but I use it to clean my teeth .... It won't cause you any harm drinking it though it's just not nice on the palette

MaltaCommando wrote:

Water is one of the tricky problems in Malta, but I just never drink tap water, I mean, you don't have to be an expert or a professor to tell that the water tastes awful, and that most probably means something bad (although maybe in very new houses with clean pipes the taste is good, I don't know, in my house built in the 1990s is definitely not).

Before when I got to my first house in Malta, we didn't even use the tap water to cook pasta, as it gave a bad taste. Now in this house we use it for cooking, as we do not tell any difference.

About the bottled water, I think the best is Aqua Azzurra, curiously one of the cheapest also. Do not try Fontana, it's very similar to the tap water, and I don't buy the one with green bottle that they sell in Piscopo, tastes very strange too. Krystal, San Michel, H2Only and Aqua Vita are average in my opinion.

It feels strange to buy desalinized bottled water, but well, that's one of the strange things on Malta.

Lidl do perfectly good bottled water for 25cts a 2ltr bottle  too

Hey Rob.

No we have the company apartment for a month so not in a hotel. Thanks for your reply, Iv used tap water to brush my teeth and didn't noticedany bad taste or anything. Have bought lots of bottle water for everything else. Any idea where is best to get our weekly shop in around here , we're right on Balluta bay front? Thanks sam x

Samantha oreilly wrote:

Hey Rob.

No we have the company apartment for a month so not in a hotel. Thanks for your reply, Iv used tap water to brush my teeth and didn't noticedany bad taste or anything. Have bought lots of bottle water for everything else. Any idea where is best to get our weekly shop in around here , we're right on Balluta bay front? Thanks sam x

The tower supermarket located near spinola is a pretty good place its spread over 3 floors  it can be very popular though
https://www.facebook.com/parktowerssupermarkets
its also very dark in there as not many windows  but they are reasonably well priced 

also  check out lidl in san gwann
Address: Triq Ic-Ciklamini, San Ġwann, Malta

if you fancy doing a big shop and like to wonder round lots of aisles then Pavi in qormi is well worth a visit
they also do offers on monday wednesday and thursday where if you spend 33 euro you get a free 6 pack of water
they have a loyalty card that get you point and 680 point equals 5 euro off your shopping 
if you shop on a saturday they have various weekly offers for  spending 100 euro or more  though so well worth checking out  and you can get a taxi back to st julains for about 18 euro too

That Pavi card is only really useful if you shop on a Tuesday. On normal days you only get 1 point for every euro spent, so you get a €5 voucher for every €680 spent. Pretty crap. On Tuesdays though, they give you 200 bonus points for every €50 spent. So if you spend €100, you get 500 points. I always shop there on Tuesdays. 

I think I've got about 36,000 points with them now, I'm saving them up for when the new 12" iPad comes out later in the year. The great thing about them is that you can spend them in loads of different places, you're not just restricted to the supermarket.

http://www.pavi.com.mt/forms/Content.aspx?=5

robpw2 wrote:

you can get a taxi back to st julains for about 18 euro too

If you're not buying any fresh stuff, fruit and veg etc, it would probably be better to do your shopping on-line, it's only 5 or 6 euros for a delivery.

You can brush your teeth with tap water, you can wash your vegetables with it, you can cook soup or pasta or whatever with it. It just tastes bad so it's not great for drinking, but it's not dangerous or anything.

thats a lot of points on the island ..i like weekends when you get 500 points lol  but yeah always good

On An Island wrote:

robpw2 wrote:

you can get a taxi back to st julains for about 18 euro too

If you're not buying any fresh stuff, fruit and veg etc, it would probably be better to do your shopping on-line, it's only 5 or 6 euros for a delivery.

i hate online shopping i like to go round see whats on offer try things and explore ... plus if they dont have what i want i can look for alternatives ..

i would NOT reccomend buying fresh fruit or veg from pavi, or tower .... at a push by it from lidl but your better off getting to know the local fruit and veg seller ..1, you know where its from  2, its usually works out cheaper 3, loyalty pays

I think that the 500 extra points when you spend €100 is normally only one weekend every month though, if you check the Pavi magazine at the start of each month they tell you when, it's normally advertised on the first few pages:

http://www.pavi.com.mt/forms/Content.aspx?=17

The Tuesday promotion is every week and the afternoons are nice and quiet in there too, a lot less stress, especially compared to the madness of Saturdays, screaming weans everywhere!! The points add up quickly, I only do a couple of large shops a month in there, spend maybe €300, but that gives you about 1500 points a month.

I agree about the fruit and veg, I do buy quite a lot of fresh stuff in Pavi, but only when I get the chance to see it, I wouldn't want somebody else picking stuff for me. As always with Malta, sometimes the quality of the selections is excellent, and sometimes it's crap.

Since we're talking about vegies now, do you know if the frozen vegies are all from here or imported? I eat a lot of vegies for the nutrion but concerned about the possible high nitrate concentration in them here. Not sure if they're polluted or not though so if someone knew that as well that would be great

Wrongholebutherewego wrote:

Since we're talking about vegies now, do you know if the frozen vegies are all from here or imported? I eat a lot of vegies for the nutrion but concerned about the possible high nitrate concentration in them here. Not sure if they're polluted or not though so if someone knew that as well that would be great

i got some from euroland in fgura they were imported frozen veg .... but ill be honest i dont tend to check or i buy tinned veg .. lol

In pavi they have a brand of frozen veg called EMBORG they are premium vegetables from the best farming areas in Europe and packed I'm Belgium 450g bag for 1€

I'm staggered by the degree of caution being advised here and the numerous comments regarding the water having a bad taste. From day one I've used the tap water in exactly the same way as I would have done in England. Tastes fine, looks fine and no stomach problems.

Maybe Gozo water is a premium brand.   

I have no problem with the taste of the water but others do, it's simply a matter of taste.

exactly

like Malta

you either like it or hate it

I think you may have Yorkshire blood, Rob, a man after my ownn heart !

When you say 'fit for drinking' you mean, it will not affect your health? Could the hardness you mentioned harm your body when drinking long-term? Thanks for your answer

Do yourselves a favour and get a water quality tester, i thought mine was broken when I tested my bottled water and nothing happened at all.

Stuck it under the tap, every possible reading went to max instantly.

Yes the hardness may affect your health in the long term. Best to filter the water or buy bottled water. Drinking unfiltered water ocassionally shouldn't harm you.