Is the tap water safe to drink in Norway?
Yes. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority says about 99.7% of the population gets drinking water of satisfactory hygienic quality, and WHO and UNICEF put safely managed drinking water at 99.1% for 2024.
What the official figures say
The weak spot is the pipes. About 29% of the drinking water, some 200 million cubic metres a year, leaks out of the network before it reaches anyone, and only 0.59% of the municipal network was renewed in 2023.
Why a public tap can still be different
Old pipes can affect the water from a public tap. In the mountains and along the fjords, streams and waterfalls are untreated, however clear they look.
Check the tap, then tell the next person
Check the tap and let the water run before drinking. When you find a good one on a hiking route, at a ferry quay or at a campsite, add it to Fontavio or review it.
Sources
- WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, household drinking water data (2025 update, estimates for 2024) (checked 2026-09-22)
- Mattilsynet, Trygt drikkevann (annual report 2024) (checked 2026-09-22)
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