The annual report on "Quality Control of Water for Human Consumption" for 2016, published by the Water and Waste Services Regulatory Agency (ERSAR), "confirms that water for human consumption in continental Portugal is of excellent quality."

Portugal "maintains the level of excellence with a safe water indicator of 99%, and can guarantee thatg the population can drink water from the tap with confidence," ERSAR said.

Last year, ERSAR carried out 50 inspections to check compliance with the legal water quality requirements and of the total, 84% of all inspections were carried out in the north and centre of the country.

In the north and centre "there are still some specific water quality problems, usually in small supply areas," said ERSAR.

"The disciplinary proceedings instituted were essentially based on non-compliance with administrative deadlines for reporting breaches to ERSAR and the health authorities," it added.

In 2016, the 15 water management bodies that sell water to municipalities continued to show results above the target of 99%, with a safe water indicator of 99.73%.

About 90% of non-compliance occurred in small supply areas serving less than 5,000 people (serving just 14% of the population overall).