Apparently, there has been some talk about our tap water here in Singapore.
Is Singapore’s tap water safe to drink?
Do you need to spend money to buy bottled water?
Well, the national water agency PUB said just a few days ago that tap water is perfectly safe to drink since they test the water every single day to make sure the quality is good.
In fact, our standards here are even higher than what the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends.
This means Singapore is going above and beyond what the UN body in charge of global health says is needed.
This all started because some people complained about an ad from a local company called Sterra Singapore.
In their ad, they implied Singapore’s tap water isn’t safe.
However, after looking into it, the advertising authority made them take the ad down because it was misleading.
Testing every day
When PUB was asked about it, they said water quality is super important to them and confirmed again that tap water here is safe to drink.
Every day, they collect samples from distribution networks all around Singapore and test them.
Our water meets the national standards and WHO guidelines, so no need for extra filters/stock-up on bottled water at home.
PUB wasn’t too happy about Sterra’s claims—in their ads, Sterra said Singapore’s tap water has harmful bacteria and algae, but that’s not true according to PUB.
They told Sterra to stop putting out misleading info online and change how they advertise.
Debunking the misleading claims
A PhD student named Clarence looked into what Sterra was saying too.
In a video he posted that got over a million views, he proved the microscope video Sterra used didn’t even come from our tap water.
It was actually from a pond!
Clarence said he made the video because people shouldn’t believe everything they see online.
Even if something sounds sciencey, the companies advertising don’t always know what they’re talking about when it comes to biology.
The advertising authority got some complaints about Sterra’s ad too.
Their chairman said while the misleading ad is gone now, people should still watch out for stuff like that online.
If you see an ad that’s lying or unethical, report it.
No such thing as completely bacteria-free
Even the director of Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute noted there’s no such thing as water with zero bacteria.
It’s normal and even important for some “healthy” bacteria to be in our pipes.
In fact, other countries like the Netherlands don’t even use chlorine in their water.
As long as the bacteria aren’t toxic or dangerous, it’s all good.
And if you need just one takeaway from this article, it’s this:
Our water is as clean or even cleaner than standards require.