Is the tap water safe to drink in Turkey?

In the cities, generally yes. Drinking water across Turkey is supervised by the Health Ministry, and Ankara's water utility, for one, tells residents they can drink from the tap with peace of mind. WHO and UNICEF publish no safely managed estimate for Turkey, but put the share of people with at least basic drinking water at 96.0% in 2024.

What the official figures say

According to the national statistics office, 1,397 of Turkey's 1,401 municipalities had a drinking water network in 2024, reaching 98.8% of the people who live in them. Municipalities drew their water mostly from dams (39.8%), wells (29.8%) and springs (16.8%), and 59.1% of it went through drinking water treatment plants.

In Ankara, the utility ASKİ takes water samples from 1,273 points around the city and publishes the analysis every month. It says the water meets the standards of the World Health Organization, the EU and the Health Ministry.

Why a public tap can still be different

A çeşme, the traditional public fountain, may be fed by a spring rather than the municipal network, and spring water hasn't necessarily been tested, however old and well used the fountain is. Look for a sign: içme suyu means drinking water, and içilmez means it isn't for drinking.

Check the tap, then tell the next person

Check the sign and the spout before you fill up. When you find a çeşme or tap you can drink from, add it to Fontavio or review it, and say which town it's in.

• Water, toilets and showers in Turkey
• Drinking water near me

Sources

1. WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, household drinking water data (2025 update, estimates for 2024) (checked 2026-09-22)
2. TÜİK, Su ve Atıksu İstatistikleri, 2024 (checked 2026-09-22)
3. ASKİ, Ankara'nın içme suyu temiz, sağlıklı ve kaliteli (2024) (checked 2026-09-22)
4. ASKİ, İçme suyu kalitesine ilişkin basın açıklaması (checked 2026-09-22)