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Around 170,000 people exposed to ‘contaminated’ drinking water in Switzerland

While Swiss drinking water is generally of high quality, supply to around 2.7 percent of the population does not meet current environmental standards, a new study has found.

Published: 13 September 2019 09:19 CEST
Around 170,000 people exposed to 'contaminated' drinking water in Switzerland
Most of the problem samples came from agricultural areas. File photo: Depositphotos

The study (here in German) by the Swiss Association of Cantonal Chemists (SACC) saw researchers examine 296 drinking water samples from around the country for the presence of pesticides.

The samples covered 73 percent of the population. A total of 12 contained higher than permitted levels of pesticide breakdown products. In some cases, levels were 10 times above those permitted levels.

Around 2.7 percent of the population were affected.

In most cases, the problem substance was a breakdown product of the fungicide Chlorothalonil.

While the SACC report does not state where there the 12 tests were taken, it does reveal that most were from agricultural areas.

Swiss farmers use some 30 tonnes of Chlorothalonil each year.

However, the European Food Safety Authority in April said it would ban the substance after investigations revealed it could not be ruled out as a carcinogenic.

The substance is still used in Switzerland, but in August the Swiss government said it wanted a ban put in place.

Swiss waterworks affected by the problem of elevated pesticide levels have been aware of the problem for several weeks. Steps are already been taken including mixing different water sources to dilute pesticide levels and using filters, according to the SACC.

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FARMING

Why Swiss consumers will pay more for milk from July 1st

Swiss consumers will be paying more when reaching for a glass of milk, or cafe latte over the second half of 2024.

Published: 28 June 2024 12:47 CEST
Updated: 1 July 2024 08:37 CEST
Why Swiss consumers will pay more for milk from July 1st

The change comes after the country’s dairy industry organisation, Branchorganisation Milch, decided to raise the indicative price of milk meant for drinking by three cents.

The new indicative price – that is to say, the median price set by the industry in selling to retailers – is 82 cents per kilogram, and only for the next two financial quarters. 

The price of milk used for food production such as in cheese of yoghurt will remain unchanged. 

The increase in price comes after farmers, predominantly in the country’s south-west, had waged a protest campaign to raise milk prices. 

In February, farmers across Switzerland gathered tractors in fields to spell out ‘SOS’, signalling the distress felt by farmers. 

Swiss farmers demanded prices that better reflect production costs, and would make the profession a viable in the long-term. 

As Arnaud Rochat, protest organiser and  a farmer from the canton of Vaud told SRF: 

“We want to be paid for what we produce at prices that take our costs into account. 

“It is still a problem when milk is cheaper than bottled water.

Concentrated mostly in the country’s French-speaking south-west cantons, the Swiss dairy industry is worth approximately CHF 2.5 billion, according to statistics repository Statista. 

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