Environmental associations are offering an interactive map showing the quality of drinking water in France.

Do you refuse to drink tap water at home and swear by buying only plastic bottles, fearing bacteria and pollutants in your water? This new tool might change your mind. The associations Générations Futures and Data For Good have created an exclusive interactive map that identifies the main chemical pollutants in tap water in France.

Available since October 16th, "Dans mon Eau!" (In My Water!) lets you know, wherever you live, if your water is exposed to pesticides and their metabolites, PFAS, nitrates, VCM, or perchlorate. This initiative had never before been offered in France.

Both organizations take this issue very seriously. That's why they are committed to providing educational content accessible to everyone. The principle is simple: enter your postal address in the search bar and wait for the results. A color-coded system has been implemented as a key to make things easier. If gray appears, you can rest assured: no pollutants have been found in the last twelve months. It might then be a good idea to ditch plastic bottles and invest in a filtered water pitcher.

If green is displayed, you can rest assured that no pollutants have been found. However, if yellow appears, it means that at least one quantifiable pollutant has been detected, without exceeding quality limits. There's no need to panic; it's not so alarming, especially considering that most of France is affected by this situation.

Overall satisfactory water quality

Things get more serious starting at orange. At least one pollutant exceeds quality limits, according to the website. Northern regions like Normandy are primarily affected. As the color indicates, if red is displayed, it means the water is not recommended for consumption by all or part of the population.

The departments of Oise, Somme, Pas-de-Calais, and Corrèze are particularly affected. Looking at the map, one can see that the overall quality of drinking water in France remains good, although it varies from region to region.

The associations Générations Futures and Data For Good emphasize that the data is reliable and comes from health monitoring carried out by the Regional Health Agencies (ARS). Furthermore, it is updated monthly, allowing for the early identification of new situations, whether positive or negative. Therefore, it is possible that your water may be more or less polluted the following month.

While many prefer to use bottled water rather than tap water, Générations Futures and Data For Good insist on reminding us that the quality of bottled water is poorly controlled and that it can contain chemical pollutants, including micro and nano plastics.