The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has taken the necessary measures in the interest of correcting the erroneous information released with respect to the quality of Hungarian tap water. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has initiated diplomatic steps vis-a-vis the US authorities in order to clarify the erroneous information released on the website of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concerning the quality of Hungarian drinking water. At the request of István Joó, Ministerial Commissioner for water diplomacy, water industry exports and the Strategy for the Danube Region at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Hungarian Embassy in Washington consulted with the competent officers of the CDC last week.

In its reply, the US organisation informed the Hungarian party that, in the absence of uniform standards concerning water quality, their recommendations are based on the UN’s Human Development Index (HDI). None of the parameters of this index, however, relates to the quality of drinking water, and it instead takes account of factors such as the given country’s GDP or life expectancy at birth.

Drinking water can be safely consumed in Hungary, and is of the highest quality also by European standards. In the case of most water quality parameters, adequacy is in excess of 95 per cent. Safe, clean and healthy drinking water is one of the country’s fortes from the respect of tourism. In Hungary the supply and quality of drinking water are stringently regulated, and fully conform to the regulations of the European Union. The quality of tap water available in every locality in Hungary is regularly monitored both by service providers and the responsible authority. According to the data of the National Public Health and Medical Officer Service, the general adequacy rate was 97.7% in 2015. This indicator also involves the testing of parameters which pose no risk to human health.

The further improvement of the quality of drinking water requires specific additional attention in only a few localities in the country. The report of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is completely erroneous and misleading, and the US authority never contacted the National Institute for Public Health.

The available data clearly shows that there is no health risk of any kind attached to the consumption of tap water in Hungary, and in actual fact, its quality is excellent even by European standards. In light of the above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will take all the necessary measures, in cooperation with the competent local authorities, in order to ensure that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention review and correct the erroneous information published on its website with respect to the quality of Hungarian drinking water within the shortest possible time.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)