Where shouldn't you drink from and what sources of water are unsafe? - Fun Kids

You’ll find water everywhere – from rock pools to swimming pools! However, not all of this water is good to drink and there are sources of water that we should avoid.

Whilst water in streams, ponds and lakes might look refreshing, it’s rarely as fresh as it looks…

It will contain many micro-organisms like algae and bacteria, which can give you a very upset tummy!

Sometimes there’s a drinking fountain at the park – that can be appealing if you’ve been running around getting hot.

The water is usually clean enough to drink but don’t put your mouth on the spout or you’ll be passing germs around.

You might accidentally gulp a mouthful of water when swimming. But it’s definitely best not to regularly swallow swimming pool water…

Although it won’t do you much harm, there may be hair or skin flakes or even worse from all those swimmers’ bodies – yuk!

Your garden hose is also out of bounds I’m afraid…

Rainwater makes up a large part of our water supply, and if you have a weather station in your garden you might find a glassful of water sitting in the rainfall gauge.

It probably looks lovely and clean but the container that the glass is in might not be clean. And as rain falls, it can pick up pollution particles from the air. The same goes for snow.

Whilst drinking rain and eating snow isn’t likely to make you poorly, it’s always better to use the taps in your house to pour yourself a drink!