PFAS in tap water: what is happening in the Netherlands?

PFAS in kraanwater: wat speelt er in Nederland?

In September 2026, Greenpeace published a study that shocked many people: in more than a third of Dutch households, tap water contains more PFAS than the RIVM recommends. What does that mean? Is your tap water still safe? And should you switch to bottled water? (Short answer: no.) We lay out the facts.

What is PFAS?

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) is the collective name for around 10,000 man-made chemicals. They are used because they repel water, oil, and dirt, for example in the non-stick coating of pans and in waterproof rainwear.

The problem: PFAS hardly break down in nature. That is why they are also called forever chemicals. Through discharges, emissions, and discarded products, they end up in the soil, air, and water, and they stay there.

How does PFAS get into your tap water?

Dutch drinking water is made from groundwater or surface water, such as water from rivers. According to the RIVM, drinking water made from surface water contains more PFAS than drinking water from groundwater. Rivers such as the Rhine carry pollution from abroad into the Netherlands.

Water companies do their best to remove PFAS, but the substances are difficult to purify and the companies cannot stop the pollution at the source.

What does the RIVM say?

The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has been researching PFAS for years. The main conclusions:

  • Dutch people are getting too much PFAS. Through food and drinking water combined, many people exceed the health guideline limit.
  • Long-term exposure can have consequences. According to the RIVM, people who ingest small amounts of PFAS over a long period may experience a negative effect on their immune system.
  • A stricter standard. According to European rules, a maximum of 100 nanograms of PFAS is legally allowed in one liter of drinking water. Based on newer scientific insights, the RIVM recommends a much stricter value: 4.4 nanograms per liter.

What does Greenpeace say?

Greenpeace analyzed the public measurement data from all ten Dutch water companies and assessed it using the RIVM method. The results:

  • In more than a third of households, the PFAS level in the tap water is above the RIVM advisory value of 4.4 nanograms per liter.
  • Western Netherlands, and especially North Holland, scores particularly high. Around Zaandam and IJmuiden, the value is more than three times above the advisory, around Alkmaar and Den Helder about two and a half times, and in Amsterdam more than twice.
  • Everywhere, the water still remains well within the legal European standard of 100 nanograms per liter.

Greenpeace also launched a postcode checker, with which you can see how much PFAS is in the tap water in your neighborhood. Just like the RIVM, Greenpeace advises to simply continue drinking tap water. The organization mainly calls for a ban on PFAS, so that the problem is addressed at the source.

Should you be worried?

The honest answer: no need to panic, but also no reason to ignore it.

Dutch tap water is safe and meets the legal standards. Switching to water in plastic bottles is not a good idea: it creates mountains of disposable plastic and is also not necessarily PFAS-free. At the same time, both the RIVM and Greenpeace indicate that the PFAS levels need to be lowered. The real solution lies with the government and industry: stop discharging and producing PFAS.

Do you want to do something yourself in the meantime to reduce your exposure? Then a good, tested water filter is a logical step.

What can you do yourself?

  1. Check your postcode. Use Greenpeace's postcode checker to see how the tap water in your region scores.
  2. Don't just drink your tap water. According to the RIVM, many Dutch people are already getting in more PFAS than is healthy, and PFAS only disappears from your body after years. So every glass counts. Switching to bottled water is not a solution: mountains of plastic and not necessarily PFAS-free. Filtered tap water, however, is.
  3. Filter your water, but choose carefully. Not every filter removes PFAS from water. Always ask for independent test results: which substances were tested, using which method, and in which lab?
  4. Replace your filter on time. A filter only works well within its lifespan.

How FILTR helps with this

The FILTR bottle has a built-in carbon filter. You simply refill it at the tap and drink filtered water, at home and on the go.

We had our filter tested in an independent, accredited European lab. The result:

Reduces PFOA, PFOS, PFHxA, and PFDoS by more than 99%, even at the end of the filter's lifespan (150 liters). Tested according to DIN EN 17892 in an accredited lab.

PFOA and PFOS are two of the best-known and most researched PFAS, and we also remove more than 99% of PFHxA and PFDoS. We deliberately tested at the end of the filter's lifespan, so you know that the filter still does what it promises after 150 liters. We advise you to replace your filter every month.

This way, you can continue drinking tap water, with less PFAS and without plastic bottles.

Clean water on the go. View the FILTR bottle →

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