How is the water?

[jasman]

Hi. I am a newcomer here. My wife and I are planning our first trip to Costa Rica for 3 weeks starting in mid-September. I’m sure this question has probably been asked before, but we want to know whether or not it is safe to drink the water in CR, or whether it is better to drink bottled water. We have some bad memories of “Montezuma’s Revenge” on a trip to Mexico. Thanks.

[DavidCMurray]

Unless you are advised otherwise, the water and the ice in Costa Rica are perfectly safe to drink. The government now mandates chlorination of all water supplies. Don’t waste your money on bottled water. Costa Rica is not Mexico.

[jasman]

David, thank you for your prompt and very welcome response! Your answer was what I expected, but my wife was worried. 😆

We are very much looking forward to our visit. I said I was a “newcomer” but I actually joined this site several years ago, but haven’t visited the site for many years. My interests turned elsewhere for a while. But now I’m back! I have been reading the forum and many of the articles. Very, very informative! I’m getting very excited to come down.

John and Lil from Fresno, Ca.

[costaricabill]

Please notice David’s first phrase: [b]”Unless you are advised otherwise”[/b]
If there is any doubt, it never hurts to ask. Fortunately, in Samara we have very good water and (for the most part) a plentiful supply. However, having said that, it is not unusual for the water department to notify us that the pipes have been worked on or the tank or pump has just been repaired. When that happens, we generally are a bit cautious for a few days. If you are in a very small rural area, I would ask for sure because they may forget to “advise you otherwise”.

[baontheriver]

[quote=”jasman”]Hi. I am a newcomer here. My wife and I are planning our first trip to Costa Rica for 3 weeks starting in mid-September. I’m sure this question has probably been asked before, but we want to know whether or not it is safe to drink the water in CR, or whether it is better to drink bottled water. We have some bad memories of “Montezuma’s Revenge” on a trip to Mexico. Thanks.[/quote]

I think that all major cities that use pumps to provide water have to chlorinate their water supply. We live in a much more rural area and all of our water supply is from mountain springs. It is all supplied by gravity and never stops running so it never gets stagnate. The other side of our valley has a lot of pipe problems and we did not have water for 20 out of 90 days when we were renting there. This side of the valley has had a dependable water supply and we have not lost water anytime in the last two years since we built our casa. We have never been sick from any of the water anywhere in this wonderful country.

[DavidCMurray]

[quote=”costaricabill”]Please notice David’s first phrase: [b]”Unless you are advised otherwise”[/b][/quote]

Let me just add that because your server asks if you prefer bottled water it does not mean the the restaurant’s normal water isn’t safe to drink. This practice is commonly known as “Padding the Bill”.

[jasman]

Thank you all for your replies. We will drink the local water unless advised otherwise. Can’t wait to get there. Last time I was in Mexico I avoided the problem by just drinking beer! 😀

[costaricabill]

I have heard that because of all of the soaking and washing and cleaning and steaming and mixing, it takes almost 7 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of beer – therefore it MUST be good for you!

[Author]

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