# Places Where Americans Can 'Drink The Water'? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 10, 2022, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859 "2022-03-10T23:34:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/1 "2022-03-10T23:34:19Z")
True story. I had to have four semesters of foreign language in high school. I chose French, my father’s HS language, and the first language of his mother. In one lesson, we were taught the French word for mineral water. There was a reason why American tourists to France should know that word, our teacher told us. In France, Americans can’t drink the water. French people have built up a tolerance to its contaminants. But not Americans. This got me to thinking. In exactly what foreign countries _CAN_ Americans in fact drink the water? I think it’s an interesting question. There was a TV commercial a while back that mentioned one place (in Asia IIRC) where you can drink the water, if you’re American. But I forget the details. So where exactly can Americans drink the water? Leave out no detail 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/2 "2022-03-10T23:38:47Z")
I’ve traveled a fair amount of the world. I only drank bottled water (that I opened) or water run through a home purifier. It’s just not worth the risk, so a blanket policy is best, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/3 "2022-03-10T23:39:55Z")
This sounds bogus. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/4 "2022-03-10T23:42:07Z")
Generally the reason not to drink the water in a foreign country is to avoid traveler’s diarrhea, a usually mild water-borne illness that local inhabitants have probably already been exposed to enough that they don’t get actively sick from it. But usually it’s developing or middle income countries with lower standards of public health or water cleanliness, not western European countries. I have drunk tap water in many European countries (France included) with no ill effect. I also drank from a fountain in Munich that someone later pointed out to me had a sign I hadn’t noticed saying “Don’t drink the water”. I was fine. In Africa and South America I only drank bottled water _that I opened the bottle_ or water that had been filtered or boiled. But in France? They have safe drinking water. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/5 "2022-03-10T23:48:42Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > In France, Americans can’t drink the water. French people have built up a tolerance to its contaminants. But not Americans. I have not been to France, but I am skeptical that the tap water is unsafe. Edited to add, you said you were told this in high school French class, so it may be relevant to know when this was. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/6 "2022-03-10T23:58:13Z")
I got some traveler’s intestinal upset in France. It’s not that they have more parts per million of bacteria, it’s just that we’re immune to a different species of bacteria than they have over there. A few other folks in my tour group got it, too, but not everyone. It was mild and only lasted a day or two. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/7 "2022-03-11T00:05:34Z")
@Dewey_Finn Early 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/8 "2022-03-11T00:06:40Z")
OK, I remain skeptical that in the early 1980s, French tap water (at least in the more urban areas) was at all unsafe. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/9 "2022-03-11T00:11:07Z")
Another cause of traveler’s diarrhea is that when you’re traveling you tend to eat a lot more food prepared by others and touch a lot more surfaces touched by others than you do when you’re at home, so you have lots more chances to pick up mild food-borne or other illnesses. I agree that there’s no reason to think that French tap water wasn’t safe to drink in the 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/10 "2022-03-11T00:21:37Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > In one lesson, we were taught the French word for mineral water. There was a reason why American tourists to France should know that word, our teacher told us. > > In France, Americans can’t drink the water. French people have built up a tolerance to its contaminants. But not Americans. First, tap water in most of France is quite drinkable. I can’t vouch for all of it. Second, mineral water might not be what you want to ask for. If you are constipated, ask for mineral water. If you aren’t, you might want to be wary of it and the potential results. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/11 "2022-03-11T01:24:46Z")
24 years ago we had a trip to 3 Southeast Asian countries planned. Then I found out I was pregnant. Many people including natives of those countries told me not to take the trip because of the risk of amebiasis, dysentery, malaria, dengue fever etc. It was the people from those countries who urged me most strongly to rethink the trip. So my husband and I took a trip to England Scotland and Wales. We drank tap water with no ill effects at all. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/12 "2022-03-11T02:35:30Z")
I’ve lived in South Korea from 1977 to 1979, Germany from 1979 to 1982, Japan from 1990 to 1996, South Korea again from 2005 to 2012, and China from 2012 to present. I’ve had no issues from drinking tap water in any of those countries. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/13 "2022-03-11T02:44:31Z")
Yeah, there is nothing wrong with the tap water anywhere in western Europe, and I doubt there was in the 1980s. There are unlucky people who seem to get sick easily from _any_ change of food or water, though, so maybe your teacher was one of these, or knew someone who was. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/14 "2022-03-11T03:02:38Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > I got some traveler’s intestinal upset in France. It’s not that they have more parts per million of bacteria, it’s just that we’re immune to a different species of bacteria than they have over there. Yeah, I’ve had this experience several times and know other travelers/long-term residents who’ve had it too upon starting a stay in a distant country. Just temporary low-level GI effects such as mild diarrhea or constipation, stomach aches, etc. (And no, it doesn’t particularly correlate to having a delicate digestion when one’s at home.) Even in a developed nation with safe food and water and good hygiene practices, some encounters with unfamiliar local microorganisms, combined with whatever levels of dietary disruption or physical and/or psychological stress one’s experiencing from the journey and acclimation, can lead to a mild degree of intestinal upset. I don’t fear the prospect sufficiently to take special food precautions or avoid drinking tap water when I’m visiting other developed countries, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/15 "2022-03-11T03:40:59Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > True story. I had to have four semesters of foreign language in high school. I chose French, my father’s HS language, and the first language of his mother. > > In one lesson, we were taught the French word for mineral water. There was a reason why American tourists to France should know that word, our teacher told us. > > In France, Americans can’t drink the water. French people have built up a tolerance to its contaminants. But not Americans. > > This got me to thinking. In exactly what foreign countries _CAN_ Americans in fact drink the water? I think it’s an interesting question. > > There was a TV commercial a while back that mentioned one place (in Asia IIRC) where you can drink the water, if you’re American. But I forget the details. > > So where exactly can Americans drink the water? Leave out no detail 🙂 . I’m in Canada, and the worst supposedly “safe” drinking water I’ve ever tasted was in Milwaukee. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/16 "2022-03-11T03:54:26Z")
When you visit American city You will find it very pretty. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/17 "2022-03-11T04:32:33Z")
Countries I have drunk the tap water in (sticking to the last ten years) without any ill effects (or even thinking about it): France The Netherlands Germany Italy England Japan South Korea Australia Switzerland Anywhere with modern water treatment is going to be fine. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/18 "2022-03-11T12:37:46Z")
Many restaurants in the Caribbean serve only bottled water. When the server brings the bottle to your table they’ll pause until everyone is quiet, then _crack_ the seal on the bottle , showing that it is indeed a new, previously unopened bottle. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/19 "2022-03-11T13:09:22Z")
There’s nothing wrong with the tap water in Cape Town, or any other South African city. The municipal water in Beaufort West and George is especially great. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859/20 "2022-03-11T13:14:39Z")
IME it’s not city water that is potentially problematic, since that is treated and monitored; it’s unchlorinated water that can be dangerous [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-where-americans-can-drink-the-water/960859.md?page=2)