# Airline drinking water-is this true? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465 "2014-03-24T18:29:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/1 "2014-03-24T18:29:48Z")
I found an article about things airline employees know about flying you should know. I was interested because I used to work as ground crew and I knew a lot of them already, but this one was new to me: > [@](#): > > The drinking water, that used for making coffee, tea, etc., should NEVER be consumed. The holding tanks in these sometimes 60 year old planes are never cleaned. They have accumulated so much greenish grime on the walls that in some places it can be inches thick. > > This one is very known by all airline employees. Is this true? Both that it is known by employees, and is it in fact true that there are inches thick layers of grime in the tanks? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/2 "2014-03-24T18:44:08Z")
The inches of slime bit is probably an exaggeration, but according to an NBC investigative report, the EPA in 2012 found that 12 percent of commercial airplanes tested positive for coliform bacteria (NBC for some reason also felt compelled to point out that this was close to 1 in 10… apparently they think that 12 percent is too difficult of a number for their audience to grasp). The NBC report, being an NBC report, is as you would expect, a bit overhyped and sensationalist. But the EPA does apparently consider the findings to be significantly high. The NBC report also mentioned that the EPA first began to focus on this problem in 2004 and apparently not much has changed since then. The EPA also has stated that it does not have any confirmed reports of anyone getting sick from airplane water. The bit about the tanks never being cleaned is false. However: > [@](#): > > Thirty years ago when I was working for USAir, we began a process to bleach the water tanks that hold the water and flush out the system. This was done on a regular basis. Yet, it was clear to anyone working on these tanks and their hoses that a lot of sediment was accumulating in the system, sediment that was akin to pond scum. Even after the tanks were bleached and flushed, some sediment always remained. It’s hard to drink anything made with water from those tanks after seeing what accumulates in there. From here: [Why Airline Crews Skip The Coffee And Tea On Board](http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoglia/2013/10/15/why-airline-crews-skip-the-coffee-and-tea-on-board/) ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/3 "2014-03-24T18:50:17Z")
The tanks have to be stainless or anti-microbial plastic to prevent corrosion so slime really couldn’t accumulate in them. And there have been no reported outbreaks of illness from people who consumed contaminated water on airplanes, so it seems like it would be a minor concern, if it was a concern at all. Frankly, I would be more concerned with a passenger suffering from the norovirus getting on board and not thoroughly washing their hands while touching everything in their path. You are likely to grow ill from that. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/4 "2014-03-24T19:16:49Z")
I’m curious about NBC’s report. 12 percent isn’t a particularly high number depending on how much effort is made to draw an uncontaminated sample. For domestic well water labs see bacteria in a higher percentage of samples provided by home owners. In most of those cases it is error in the sampling process and not the well water. The tanks are sanitized with bleach regularly. It’s not unusual for any tank or pipe to accumulate sediment. This doesn’t make them harmful. If you’re drinking water on a plane it is going to be bottled water anyway. People tend to be far too concerned about the cleanliness of water, so it’s hardly surprising people in the airline industry avoid it. If those same people worked for a cities DOW or in a bottling plant they might end up dying of thirst. Most water comes from the ground. It isn’t pristine source from the heavens. Water is some dirty stuff. Dirty does not mean unhealthy. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/5 "2014-03-24T19:21:26Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > And there have been no reported outbreaks of illness from people who consumed contaminated water on airplanes, so it seems like it would be a minor concern, if it was a concern at all. Are the airlines required to collect and turn in any such reports to a government agency? ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/6 "2014-03-24T19:25:10Z")
Sixty years ago was 1954 before jets. Can anyone name an airline that is still flying DC-6s or a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/7 "2014-03-24T19:28:57Z")
> [@](#): > > The holding tanks in these sometimes 60 year old planes… What airline is flying airplanes from 1954? I’d like to go somewhere in a radial-engine airplane! A Constellation, maybe? ETA: **Rick** beat me to it! . ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/8 "2014-03-24T19:34:42Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Sixty years ago was 1954 before jets. > Can anyone name an airline that is still flying DC-6s or a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser? Maybe the person who wrote the warning flies in B-52 Stratofortresses. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/9 "2014-03-24T19:35:04Z")
Well, you might want to dwell on the following question a bit: when was the last time the pipes leading to your home were scrubbed down and disinfected? Never, right? The town might occasionally send an extra jolt of chloramine through, but that’s not going to do anything for the sediments and calcium deposits. So if you looked at a cross section of the pipes, you’d probably be more sanguine about the airline drinking water. Oh, you also don’t want to be filling y[our glass with ice water at any fast food restaurants](http://www.grubstreet.com/2013/06/ice-machines-bacteria-toilet-water.html) either… ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/10 "2014-03-24T19:36:12Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Are the airlines required to collect and turn in any such reports to a government agency? I believe that this FAA reg covers it for US carriers: [http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/ATC.pdf](http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/ATC.pdf) As far as foreign carriers, they may have their own regulations. I’m not certain. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/11 "2014-03-24T19:38:20Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Sixty years ago was 1954 before jets. > Can anyone name an airline that is still flying DC-6s or a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser? That’s not entirely true. The deHavilland Comet entered service in 1952. And if you give them ‘nearly’ 60 year old, the SAS Caravelle entered service in 1955 and the 707 entered service in 1958. So 60 years ago isn’t quite the ‘stone knives and bearskin’ era of commercial travel you would think. Of course, none of them are still in commercial service! ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/12 "2014-03-24T19:40:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > What airline is flying airplanes from 1954? I’d like to go somewhere in a radial-engine airplane! A Constellation, maybe? > ETA: **Rick** beat me to it! > > . [Everts Air Cargo in Alaska.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DItt2Y1s3K8) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/13 "2014-03-24T19:43:41Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > [Everts Air Cargo in Alaska.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DItt2Y1s3K8) I just told the SO last night that we need to take a trip to Alaska so that we can ride a DC-3 somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/14 "2014-03-24T20:03:20Z")
Most tests are not sophisticated enough to distinguish pathogenic bacteria from non-pathogenic bacteria so statements of “X% were found harboring Y” are not very informative. Besides which, all known pathogenic bacteria are killed well below boiling point so coffee and tea would be perfectly safe to drink. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/15 "2014-03-24T20:19:30Z")
Well, let’s hear about cruise ships then. Surely those are petri dishes of bacteria? :: pops some popcorn :: ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/16 "2014-03-24T21:19:50Z")
Was about to say, there are still DC-3s flying, and those were first flown in the 30’s. I honestly can’t think of the last time I drank the water in the airplane lavatories. Why bother when I can push the magic button to summon a flight attendant with the pushcart of beverages? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/17 "2014-03-24T21:49:37Z")
“Mandrake, have you never wondered why I only drink distilled water or rainwater, and only pure grain alcohol?” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/18 "2014-03-24T22:07:22Z")
I worked on the US Air Force C-9 which was a version of the DC-9. It had potable water. It was tested frequently and bleach ran though the system every so often. We also drained the tank and lines a lot especially when it was going to be below freezing. Sure didn’t want water pipes breaking inside an aircraft! ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/19 "2014-03-25T00:58:00Z")
My grandpa used to have a water cooler with a large glass tank on top, which had developed moss along the inner walls that had tendrils a couple inches long waving in the water. I’m sure he drank from it every day for several decades. The water was delicious. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465/20 "2014-03-25T01:16:38Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I just told the SO last night that we need to take a trip to Alaska so that we can ride a DC-3 somewhere. Yellowkhife, NWT and the Buffalo Airways sked to Hay River, as shown on “Ice Pilots”. As many aviation enthusiasts as locals on the route, I understand. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-drinking-water-is-this-true/684465.md?page=2)