Can You Drink Tap Water In Mombasa?

If you are planning to visit Mombasa and are wondering if drinking tap water is safe, this is what you should know.

What you should understand is that the locals in Mombasa buy drinking water from vendors roaming around with handcarts.

There are many taps all over Mombasa but the locals don’t use that water for drinking.

The water from the taps is used for washing clothes, cooking, and cleaning.

You can’t drink tap water in Mombasa because the water coming from it is salty, unpurified, and dirty. A large amount of water comes from the wells that are dug within the buildings.

Since Mombasa is just around the coastline of the Indian Ocean, the water pumped from these wells is salty.

There are taps meant to serve drinking water but they are in isolated areas and that is why those people have no choice but to buy from the vendors moving around with handcarts.

You will find some of the locals in Mombasa drinking tap water because they are used to it. Their stomachs can’t be affected by the salt water because they have been drinking it for a while.

For someone who is used to drinking sparkle clean drinking water, drinking the water from the taps is going to make you sick. Don’t see the locals drinking tap water and assume that you can also do it.

You can drink the fresh water that is bought by the locals from the vendors moving around with handcarts, if you don’t feel comfortable you should buy bottled water.

Another option you have is to either boil the water, let it cool, and drink it, or purify it using chlorine.

If you are traveling in Mombasa you have to make sure you have bottles of water with you to avoid being dehydrated because the temperatures are always too high.

Avoid buying cheap juices on the streets of Mombasa to compensate for water because you are likely to get sick.

You can drink the sugarcane juice but you have to ensure the environment you want to buy it is clean and presentable. Check the glasses being used to serve the juice and ensure they are clean.

Why is Mombasa water salty?

Mombasa water from the wells and taps is salty because it’s located close to the Indian Ocean. But as you keep going far away from the coastline the water starts getting less salty.

Drinking the salt water from the taps is only going to keep dehydrating you and increase the chances of you getting kidney stones.

Avoid drinking salt water at all costs, you should boil it if you have no alternative to getting bottled water.

Lastly…

You should avoid drinking tap water in Mombasa if you know you have stomach complications. The best way to ensure you are safe is by drinking bottled water.

If you have to drink tap water, make sure you boil it or purify it using chlorine.

Don’t drink salt water from the taps because it will keep dehydrating you and causing kidney stones at last.

You can buy bottled water at cheap prices in any store you come across. Make sure that the bottles’ seals aren’t broken.