In short, the answer is yes. The long answer is that it depends.

The general rule is that if the water tastes good and looks clean, it is safe to drink. Sometimes if you’re in a beach community, the water will taste salty. The taste is not good. We do not recommend drinking this water. The water looks perfectly clean, but it just a little bit salty and would not taste good. Throughout Cuba and Havana, there are water treatment plants that treat all the water well. Additionally, there are chlorination stations throughout the city of Cuba that provide disinfection of the water.

In any case, although tap water is perfectly safe, if you still have concerns, you can still buy bottled water in any Cuban supermarket at a very low price. Please never use the taste or quality of drinking water as an excuse to avoid visiting Cuba.

Sometimes, as in any city, it recommended boiling water before using it, usually due to construction work or a broken water line. This is rare and the advice is usually issued as a precaution rather than a warning.

Interesting note: in the past, there have been some very limited cholera epidemics, which generally did not affect more than half a dozen people and which were always located in the extremely poor suburbs of the Far Eastern provinces. These problems were caused by poor sanitary conditions in overcrowded housing rather than by contaminated water sources. So, unless you plan to sleep on the floor of an overcrowded ghetto in an isolated village at the eastern end of the Cuba Island, you shouldn’t be at all worried about contracting cholera through tap water.

Water shortage: It’s difficult to find water

Cuba has a planned economy and, as this term suggests, supply chains do not adapt well with things that are not in the scheme. These plans are five years old and do not take into account the recent boom in tourism.

What does it have to do with water?

Well, tourists are convinced that they should drink only bottled water for their health. And since there are more tourists and the water plan does not take this into account, there is a lack of bottled water. It is therefore difficult to find water and people are thirsty.

You can boil tap water!

The water is potable and treated in Cuba but, in general, tropical water has a pH and microbial content different from that of “northern” water. You know your body and what your stomach can accept/tolerate. Bottled water is readily available for sale in many stores. If you drink tap water and have a reaction, it is usually self-limited diarrhea that can be treated by switching to bottled water for a few days.

In Cuba, most of the waters are fit for consumption. It tastes a bit like a swimming pool, but it is perfectly fine. So if you find yourself wandering in the streets of Cuba in search of water, just drink from the tap … It’s safe. To avoid being sued, however, we recommend boiling it. For your information, it is important to know that the Ministry of Public Health has warned all Cubans that it is safer to boil their drinking water if they drink from the tap. As they have been so many tropical storms and hurricanes in recent years, the quality of the water has been affected.

Why you need a water filtration system in Cuba

Even if the tap water is drinkable and treated, there are still threats, notably due to the aging of our water infrastructure. Water filtration systems protect your water and your family by removing toxins agents when your water supply is contaminated. Here are four reasons why you need a water filtration system in Cuba to purify your tap water.

1. It removes lead and other heavy metals

If you think lead contamination is out of reach for your water, remember that Flint, Michigan lost access to its clean water system in 2015. And the mayor of Flint reminded the world in 2019 that the water is still not potable. Although a home filtration system cannot remove overwhelming lead levels, it does remove traces left after treatment. Lead, arsenic and other toxins are not just a part of life. Scientists link them to the health effects of adults and children.

2. Better taste the water

Does your water taste funny? It may have an odour that you don’t like. In any case, you are spending money on bottled water – or avoiding drinking water in general – to avoid the taste. Your water doesn’t taste funny “because it’s like that”. The difference between tap water and the clean taste of mountain springs is not the water itself. Instead, it is often the water source or infrastructure that brings the water to your house. You can filter out the things that cause weird smells and tastes with a simple water filter.

3. Protect the environment from excess plastic

If you are currently buying bottled drinking water, you can stop buying water and start enjoying what you receive at home. Of the 50 billion plastic bottles purchased in the United States each year, only 38% are recycled. The rest ends up in landfills and our oceans; 8 million tons of plastic enter our oceans and threaten our marine life each year.

4. Save money

Whether you buy it at the checkout or use a water cooler at home, turning tap water into something drinkable will save you money. Here is the problem with bottled water. It may cost $ 2 here and there, but bottled water costs 2,000 times more than tap water. How did we get involved in such a scam? The push for bottled water began in the 1970s and 1980s, despite its existence on the market since the 19th century. Bottled water was at the center of an intense marketing campaign which claimed that Perrier water was “more refreshing, more refreshing …” than tap water. Then, in 1986, the Environmental Protection Agency released a report that shocked America. Thirty-six million Americans drank water that contained high levels of lead. For millions of Americans, the transition to bottled water was almost complete. Although cities and states have been quick to fix infrastructure issues, marketers at PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have continued to sing that tap water may not be safe to drink. Ultimately, the idea that bottled water is healthier, safer, or even tastier than tap water is a marketing tactic. And if you don’t like your water – you can change it with a water filtration system!

CONCLUSION

Water is safe to drink and well treated in Cuba, but, in general, the PH and microbial composition of water in tropical regions are a little different from northern water. You know your body behaviour and what you can tolerate. Bottled water is readily available for sale in many stores. If you drink tap water and have a reaction, it is usually self-limited diarrhea that can be treated by switching to bottled water for a few days. In Cuba, most waters are safe to drink. It tastes a bit like a swimming pool, but it’s perfectly fine. So, when travelling you find yourself wandering in the neighbourhoods of Cuba searching for water, just drink water from the faucet… It’s very safe. To avoid being chased, however, we recommend boiling it. For your information, it is important to know that the Ministry of Public Health has warned all Cubans that it is safer to boil their drinking water if they drink from the tap. As there have been so many tropical storms and hurricanes in recent years, the quality of the water has been affected.