You Can Leave Your Diarrhea Pills At Home!
I often get asked by you if there’s any need to bring water purifying pills or a family pack of above mentioned pills to Singapore. Many of you wonder if, being in South East Asia, Singapore’s water quality is the same of what one might expect it to be…terrible and rich in bacteria and viruses.
Continue reading to find out if the water here is really that bad and what you should do for not dying of thirst once arrived in Singapore.
Answer: Yes! The Tap Water In Singapore Is Very Clean
In very strong contradiction to other neighbor countries, Singapore’s tap water is well within the World Health Organization drinking water guidelines, and is suitable for drinking without any further filtration.
I personally arrived in Singapore with a more or less weak stomach and getting cramps from too spicy food, but I never had a problem with tap water. (The 7 Best Singaporean Dishes You Must Try)
You can use it to refill your water bottles, make ice cubes for chilled drinks or simply water your plants, they will love it ;)
Uniquely Singapore “Recycles” Its Water
The problem that the island country Singapore faces since the very beginning of its existence is a shortage of everything that does not “grow” or exist on its land. Which of course includes fresh water (being an island surrounded by salt water) as well.
As a solution Singapore created a “recycling” program for used and drain water that gets collected in several reservoirs all over the island, being cleaned and recycled, making Singapore more independent in terms of “fresh water.
The latest addition is the currently under construction reservoir directly at the Marina harbor, in front of the new Marina Bay Casino and the Singapore Flyer.
The program is called “NEWater“, and meets the drinking-water standards set by both the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Its Not Safe To Drink Tap Water Everywhere
Of course you still have to be careful. Not everything that shines is gold and not everything that is liquid is fresh water. There are still places that you shouldn’t drink the tap water directly off or without filtering. (A List Of Singaporean Restaurants That Dont Serve Free Water)
Some hotels will have a card warning you not to drink from the tap, especially if the water is recycled i.e. non-potable.
Also, don’t drink from taps in coffee shops. Although they come from clean sources (and contain chlorine to kill bacteria), I wouldn’t want to drink from them since you do not know what contaminants are present on the taps …
If you still have any doubts about the TAP water you drink – filter it, then boil it, and then drink it.
Do You Agree Or Did You experienced Differently?
As mentioned did I only make good experiences with the local tap water. How about you? Please let me know if your tap water is good as well, and maybe which are you live in so we can find out where in Singapore the “best” water comes from!
Please write your comment just below!
by an Asia experienced 26 year young expat living and surviving in Singapore since years!
Discovering new interesting and strange things everyday, he provides guides, news and tips for how to survive Singapore and how to best prepare for it.
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