From a river or from the sea: this is where our drinking water comes from

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In Zoetermeer we have the luxury that delicious drinkable water flows from our tap. Unlike in many European countries, you will not taste any chlorine or other strange tastes in the water in Zoetermeer. But where does our drinking water actually come from?

The Netherlands has ten different drinking water companies that supply billions of liters of clean drinking water every day. In Zoetermeer that is Dunea.

Water extraction

In the Netherlands, drinking water is extracted in three ways: from groundwater, from the river (surface water) or from bank groundwater. Groundwater is rainwater that has slowly seeped into the subsoil. That journey sometimes takes hundreds to thousands of years. Surface water mainly comes from the Rhine, the IJsselmeer and the Maas. The bank groundwater is a combination of water from a river and groundwater. This type of water is mainly found just behind a dike near a river. Do you already have an idea where Zoetermeer’s drinking water comes from? (Source: drinking water platform.nl)

Zoetermeer drinking water

The drinking water in Zoetermeer is extracted by Dunea. As Zoetermeer residents, we are not the only ones who use Dunea’s drinking water. Neighboring cities The Hague, Delft and Lansingerland also drink water from the tap of this company. Dunea’s head office is located in the Rokkeveen district. In 2018, 83 million cubic meters of water were extracted. Good to know: 1 cubic meter of water equals 1,000 litres.

All that drinking water in Zoetermeer did not come from the sea, because that is too salty, but from surface water. Dunea gets its drinking water from the Afdamde Maas, a branch of the Maas. This water is filtered in the South Holland dunes between Monster and Kijkduin, and Scheveningen and Katwijk. Clean drinking water goes to 1.4 million customers in the Randstad. Dunea uses the river Lek as a reserve source.

By the way, did you know that you can tap free drinking water from one of the water taps at more than ten locations in Zoetermeer? Hold your empty bottle under the tap, press and tap. You can find them here.

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Curious what the average Dutch person uses in water per day? According to the CBS is that 134 liters. About 41 percent of this is used for showering, 29 percent for flushing the toilet and 12 percent for washing clothes. The remaining 18 percent is used for cooking, washing dishes and, of course, drinking tap water, coffee and tea. The water consumption of an average family or household in the Netherlands (2.13 people) is 285.42 liters per day.

Best drinking water in Europe?

Finally, it is nice to know that drinking water in the Netherlands is of a very high standard. Compared to France or Spain, there is (almost) no chlorine in the water. Could you say that the best drinking water in Europe flows from Dutch taps?

Well, during the European Water Awards in 2020, the Netherlands came second in the election for the best tap water in Europe. The jury rated the Dutch tap water with a 7.1 and described it as ‘clean, smooth and the mouthfeel is just right’. At number one is Austrian drinking water and tap water from Portugal with a ‘distinctly foul chlorine taste’ ended up in last place.

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