WHO/EU drinking water standards comparative table

The EU standards are more recent (1998), complete and strict than the WHO standards (1993).

Some examples are:

- Bromate (Br): Not mentioned by the WHO, 0.01 mg/l guideline in the EU standards.

- Manganese (Mn): Guideline reduced from 0.5 to 0.05 mg/l.

- Cyanide (CN): Guideline reduced from 0.07 to 0.005 mg/l.

But in some cases the EU guidelines are less strict than the WHO’s:

- Cadmium (Cd): Guideline rised from 0.003 to 0.005 mg/l.

Here is a comparative table of both WHO and EU standards:

	WHO standards	EU standards
	1993	1998
Suspended solids	No guideline	Not mentioned
COD	No guideline	Not mentioned
BOD	No guideline	Not mentioned
Oxidisability		5.0 mg/l O2
Grease/oil	No guideline	Not mentioned
Turbidity	No guideline⁽¹⁾	Not mentioned
pH	No guideline⁽²⁾	Not mentioned
Conductivity	250 microS/cm	250 microS/cm
Color	No guideline⁽³⁾	Not mentioned
Dissolved oxygen	No guideline⁽⁴⁾	Not mentioned
Hardness	No guideline⁽⁵⁾	Not mentioned
TDS	No guideline	Not mentioned

cations
(positive ions)
Aluminium (Al)	0.2 mg/l	0.2 mg/l
Ammonia (NH4)	No guideline	0.50 mg/l
Antimony (Sb)	0.005 mg/l	0.005 mg/l
Arsenic (As)	0.01 mg/l	0.01 mg/l
Barium (Ba)	0.3 mg/l	Not mentioned
Berillium (Be)	No guideline	Not mentioned
Boron (B)	0.3 mg/l	1.00 mg/l
Bromate (Br)	Not mentioned	0.01 mg/l
Cadmium (Cd)	0.003 mg/l	0.005 mg/l
Chromium (Cr)	0.05 mg/l	0.05 mg/l
Copper (Cu)	2 mg/l	2.0 mg/l
Iron (Fe)	No guideline⁽⁶⁾	0.2
Lead (Pb)	0.01 mg/l	0.01 mg/l
Manganese (Mn)	0.5 mg/l	0.05 mg/l
Mercury (Hg)	0.001 mg/l	0.001 mg/l
Molibdenum (Mo)	0.07 mg/l	Not mentioned
Nickel (Ni)	0.02 mg/l	0.02 mg/l
Nitrogen (total N)	50 mg/l	Not mentioned
Selenium (Se)	0.01 mg/l	0.01 mg/l
Silver (Ag)	No guideline	Not mentioned
Sodium (Na)	200 mg/l	200 mg/l
Tin (Sn) inorganic	No guideline	Not mentioned
Uranium (U)	1.4 mg/l	Not mentioned
Zinc (Zn)	3 mg/l	Not mentioned

anions
(negative ions)
Chloride (Cl)	250 mg/l	250 mg/l
Cyanide (CN)	0.07 mg/l	0.05 mg/l
Fluoride (F)	1.5 mg/l	1.5 mg/l
Sulfate (SO4)	500 mg/l	250 mg/l
Nitrate (NO3)	(See Nitrogen)	50 mg/l
Nitrite (NO2)	(See Nitrogen)	0.50 mg/l

microbiological
parameters
Escherichia coli	Not mentioned	0 in 250 ml
Enterococci	Not mentioned	0 in 250 ml
Pseudomonas
aeruginosa	Not mentioned	0 in 250 ml
Clostridium
perfringens	Not mentioned	0 in 100 ml
Coliform bacteria	Not mentioned	0 in 100 ml
Colony count 22oC	Not mentioned	100/ml
Colony count 37oC	Not mentioned	20/ml

other parameters
Acrylamide	Not mentioned	0.0001 mg/l
Benzene (C6H6)	Not mentioned	0.001 mg/l
Benzo(a)pyrene	Not mentioned	0.00001 mg/l
Chlorine dioxide (ClO2)	0.4 mg/l
1,2-dichloroethane	Not mentioned	0.003 mg/l
Epichlorohydrin	Not mentioned	0.0001 mg/l
Pesticides	Not mentioned	0.0001 mg/l
Pesticides - Total	Not mentioned	0.0005 mg/l
PAHs	Not mentioned	0.0001 mg/l
Tetrachloroethene	Not mentioned	0.01 mg/l
Trichloroethene	Not mentioned	0.01 mg/l
Trihalomethanes	Not mentioned	0.1 mg/l
Tritium (H3)	Not mentioned	100 Bq/l
Vinyl chloride	Not mentioned	0.0005 mg/l

(1) Desirable: Less than 5 NTU
(2) Desirable: 6.5-8.5
(3) Desirable: 15 mg/l Pt-Co
(4) Desirable: less than 75% of the saturation concentration
(5) Desirable: 150-500 mg/l
(6) Desirable: 0.3 mg/l

General information on the drinking water standards