Is Mexico City water clean?
Visiting Mexico City is an adventure in rich history, vibrancy in culture, and the most amazing food; one rarely discussed topic amongst tourists is, however: "Is the water clean?" Understandably, knowing the quality of water in this metropolis will determine all the difference in a visit. Since residents in Seattle are aware that companies such as Deep Cleaning Seattle contribute to maintaining a clean environment in Seattle, the waters in Mexico City should be common knowledge to any tourist. The city's water supply system and infrastructure has enough complexity involved; knowing if the water is safe for drinking would be helpful for any tourist who is interested in this place.
In this blog, we are going to discuss the current status of water quality in Mexico City, challenges, and what visitors should know about drinking water during their visit.
Clean Water-Why is it Important
Clean access to water is important to the public's health and wellbeing. Services like Deep Cleaning Seattle and other metropolitan cities, make sure that services for the clean habitability of an area apply. Similar, Mexican capital city ensures that the water provided is non-harmful to residents and tourists.
Just like Sparkly Maid NYC provides a full cleaning process to achieve a healthy indoor environment inside homes, knowing the quality of water in Mexico City is important to make health-conscious choices for travelers.
Current Water Quality in Mexico City
Majority of the city's water supply comes from underground aquifers and surface rivers. Despite efforts made by the city to purify its supplies before it reaches homes, problems still persist. One of the major problems is that the transportation infrastructure is old and leaky with the potential for contamination. According to studies, despite claims by the government that 95% of its water supply is safe for consumption, most citizens do not believe this because of previous incidents of tainted supplies.
Despite the purification processes done at the source, there are numerous factors that can compromise its quality before it reaches consumers' taps. Rusty pipes, leaky infrastructure, and dirty storage tanks along the way contribute to the potential contamination process. Consequently, most of the residents shun tap water in favor of bottled or filtered water. This widespread caution is primarily motivated by history, like the quake and aftermath in 1985, where ruptured pipes caused widespread illness due to contaminated water.
Challenges to Water Quality
It is clear that Mexico City faces several challenges to water quality:
Geological Conditions: The city sits on an ancient lakebed, making the water supply complex. Groundwater extraction has resulted in substantial subsidence of land, further dismantling infrastructure.
Urbanization: Rapid urban development has strained the many antiquated resources and overrun old systems. Many neighborhoods often run short of or have access to polluted water at erratic times, facing variable conditions of availability.
Pollution: Heavy metals such as lead and arsenic have been found in almost every section of the city. Ingestion of these contaminants may lead to serious health issues.
What Visitors Should Know
For any visitor to Mexico City, the water situation requires a crucial caution:
1. Do Not Drink Tap Water: As a general warning, tap water should not be consumed directly but bottled or filtered water available from restaurants and hotels can be used.
2. Be cautious with ice: Most restaurant businesses ensure that they use filtered or bottled water for making ice; however, the street vendors are less likely to do the same. If you do not know where the ice in your drinks has come from if provided by street vendors or local eateries, it is best to steer clear of them completely.
3. Brushing Your Teeth with Tap Water: Most of us have never had any issue with using tap water to brush our teeth; however, if you are sensitive to stomachs, you may want to stick to the bottled version.
4. Ask at Hotels or Restaurants: Whenever you eat out or stay in a hotel or lodge, do not be afraid to ask the staff about their source of water and whether it's filtered.
Conclusion
In sum, while Mexico City's water supply has been purified in some form, much still lingers about its cleanliness and safety. To facilitate travel, it is important to know these issues so you can chart the best course of action to make effective choices during your stay.
Just like Deep Cleaning Seattle makes the home hygienic, and how Sparkly Maid NYC delivers quality cleaning in New York City; that knowing of local conditions allows tourists to enjoy time in Mexico City without harming their health. The precautions over that drinking water, and knowing about the prevalent practices there, allow all the lively city has in store to be enjoyed without harming their health.
Overall, you are destined to gain a better experience in traveling around Mexico City if you become aware of your environment and make some responsible decisions in handling your drinking.
