Paphos Life

Hi Everyone... need some advice please - just over the last couple of weeks, I have noticed that the tap water that I fill up then refrigerate in 1.5 litre bottles has tasted very "earthy" and also has a distinctive smell about it. I read a posting on Facebook a few days back, from a few people that have also experienced this, and someone said they were told by the Water Authority that, they have now started adding chlorine into the mains water supply

So, firstly does anyone know if that is the case and does that not make the water unsafe to consume (not that I would want to if that is indeed true as it now tastes horrible!)
I was going to call the Water Board, but last time I tried to communicate with them, I had some difficulty trying to understand one of the guys, as he did not speak very good English unfortunately. I have sampled/tasted the water over the last couple of days and it is still the same so something is going on. I never buy bottled water anyway- as that can be expensive and to be frank I have found the water perfectly ok to drink up to now, straight from the fridge. I used to keep several bottles ready also in case of emergencies when they cut the water off which has happened quite a lot over the summer months. Any ideas please ???

We put the drinking water through a Britta filter jug before consuming...it definitely improves it!

We had a bad batch of tap water a couple of months ago and it cleared after a couple of days, the taste is usually caused by sediment being picked up off the bottom of the supply pipe after a burst.
I know in the UK tap water is much higher quality than bottled water and would think it's the same here.
A bit like Peckham Water in Only Fools And Horses, not far from the truth.

Jim B wrote: ↑Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:20 pm I know in the UK tap water is much higher quality than bottled water and would think it's the same here.

Not necessarily better unless you are talking about mineral water, which has the natural salts in it. Tap water anywhere can vary in quality. Here, the water quality is constantly monitored from all sources.

daveg wrote: ↑Sun Oct 24, 2021 4:32 pm We put the drinking water through a Britta filter jug before consuming...it definitely improves it!

Thanks - that sounds a good investment, but could you possibly advise where I can get one of these jugs from, and how much they hold (litres)
and - how long do the filters last before they need to be replaced..

Devil wrote: ↑Sun Oct 24, 2021 7:06 pm

Jim B wrote: ↑Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:20 pm I know in the UK tap water is much higher quality than bottled water and would think it's the same here.

Not necessarily better unless you are talking about mineral water, which has the natural salts in it. Tap water anywhere can vary in quality. Here, the water quality is constantly monitored from all sources.

I worked for North West Water at Lingley Mere in Warrington which includes their test laboratories and the water quality and purity standards required were much higher than those required by bottled water companies.

I bought a ceramic water filter (manufacturer: Olympus, Greece, cost around €85) which is capable to retain bacteria. I wouldn´t trust a Britta filter to do that. That being said, I doubt any filter will help against the taste of Chlorine, but an earthy taste isn´t caused by chlorine anyway (pool water has a chlorine smell). It must have a different reason.

Over in the east we have water dispensing machines on many road sides, 1e for 20 litres of mountain water, do you not have anything similar?

Yes, usually outside some kiosks

Hi Everyone, some interesting comments. I have also just found this article that is also very informative and had things in there I did not know
I think I may also take a visit to Peyia Council and see if I can speak to someone there- maybe Linda Lebanc might know who to speak to, to find out what is going on. Here is the article:
https://cyprusandaxi.com/can-you-drink- ... in-cyprus/