Drinking tap water in Bali

Bali is situated in the tropics and as so is a petri-dish for bacteria. People get their water either piped, in the city, from a well, or from a stream. Should you drink the tap water in Bali?

The answer is no. Pouring yourself a glass of water out the tap and drinking it probably won’t kill you, or even make you sick…first time. Its just not a good idea. In my house we have barrels of water and a dispenser, though I have on many occasions, filled a kettle with tap water and made a cup of tea.

Cleaning my teeth I use tap water, and I’m still here. Up in the mountains it gets even better. A friend told me that up in Batukaru, he did a water test, and his stream has less particles that the bottled water!

Most restaurants and warungs now wash their salads and other items in bottled water, or have a water purifier. Most people have figured out that poisoning the customers isn’t a long term strategy.

So don’t worry if you get a mouthful of water, just don’t go guzzling it.