Above ALL it should be a warning to Europe (and the rest of the world) to NOT privatize water-supply (!!).
Because that is what France has done in most regions, with those private water utility-companies holding off on long-term investments in infrastructure (fixing leaks, renewing their pipe-grid, etc.), and rather compensate by adding more chlorine to the water, use their budget to fund election campaigns of local officials.
That's not "evil", it's just that for a stock-trading company such investments have only minor incentives but put a huge dent into the annual bottomline...
JPLeRouzic · 1d ago
In Europe, it seems to me that, contrary to the dominant discourse about "eternal contaminants," the real problem with tap water is fecal matter caused by overpopulation (see Perrier problems). There are many other mundane issues, but they do not interest elites living in major cities and stratospheric concepts.
herbst · 1d ago
This is no "European" problem in that sense, we have highly different water quality depending on where you are and many people are very aware of the issues here.
Some countries do not give a damn, some do and some do actually care, measure and warn.
I am glad this is getting looked into on a bigger level now.
rickdeckard · 1d ago
> The real problem with tap water is fecal matter caused by overpopulation
Which indicates that the real problem would be water infrastructure that somehow allows such contaminant to enter the tap water grid.
Because that is what France has done in most regions, with those private water utility-companies holding off on long-term investments in infrastructure (fixing leaks, renewing their pipe-grid, etc.), and rather compensate by adding more chlorine to the water, use their budget to fund election campaigns of local officials.
That's not "evil", it's just that for a stock-trading company such investments have only minor incentives but put a huge dent into the annual bottomline...
Some countries do not give a damn, some do and some do actually care, measure and warn.
I am glad this is getting looked into on a bigger level now.
Which indicates that the real problem would be water infrastructure that somehow allows such contaminant to enter the tap water grid.