Read its water quality bulletin: complete guide and gravity filter

June 26, 2026

By: T.L.

This document attached to your water bill reveals everything about your drinking water

Every year, a discreet document arrives with your water bill. It is called the infobill, drawn up by the ARS (Regional Health Agency) and must be attached to an invoice by your operator. This bulletin summarizes the results of the health monitoring of your water: microbiology, nitrates, pesticides, heavy metals and many other parameters.

Most French people throw it away without reading it. This is a mistake. This document contains essential health information about the water you drink, use for cooking, and give to your children.

The paradox is striking: a bulletin can display the word “compliant” while revealing concentrations at 90% of the maximum authorized threshold for certain pollutants. Compliant does not mean pure. Certain contaminants, such as PFAS, whose mandatory control did not come into effect until January 2026, simply did not appear in previous bulletins.

Add to this that 31.5% of French distribution networks contain pesticides according to Générations Futures, and you understand why this newsletter deserves your full attention.

This article tells you how to find your bulletin, how to read it parameter by parameter, and how to decide if a gravity filter is warranted for your household.

Where to find the water quality bulletin for your municipality

Two access channels exist. The first is the paper document, attached once a year to your water bill by your operator. If you threw it away or never received it, the second channel is online.

Go to the Ministry of Health portal, accessible via Service-Public.gouv.fr. Navigation is simple: select your region, then your department, then your municipality. You then access the analysis results for each measured parameter.

Good to know: online results are updated regularly and may be more recent than the paper document. Each municipality is attached to one or more UDIs (distribution units), and the results may vary from one UDI to another. If your municipality has several, check which one serves your address.

The process takes less than 5 minutes. This is the time best spent understanding what you drink each day.

Deciphering the parameters: quality limits vs quality benchmarks

Your bulletin classifies parameters into two distinct regulatory categories. To confuse them is to miss the point.

Quality limits

They concern parameters whose excess has a direct health impact : pesticides, nitrates, lead, microbiology. When a quality limit is exceeded, the ARS can impose restrictions on use, such as prohibiting the consumption of tap water for infants or pregnant women. These are the parameters to monitor as a priority.

Quality references

They concern parameters such as pH, residual chlorine or limescale. Exceeding them indicates a malfunction of the installations (corrosion, scaling), without direct impact on health. A slightly out of range pH will not make you sick, as stated in theARS Hauts-de-France.

The gray area that no one mentions

A parameter can reach 90% of the maximum authorized threshold without triggering an official alert or mention in the health conclusion. Concrete example: nitrates measured at 45 mg/L for a threshold set at 50 mg/L. Technically, it is compliant. But you're at 90% of the max. If the next analysis reveals an increase of a few milligrams, you fall into non-compliance.

The “health conclusion” column of your report card indicates whether the water is “fit for drinking,” with or without restrictions. This binary mention does not reflect the nuance of the numbers. This is why you have to read the measured values, not just the conclusion.

Identify parameters whose value exceeds 80% of the threshold. This is where the most useful information in your newsletter is hidden.

Key pollutants to watch for in your bulletin

Four families of pollutants deserve particular attention when opening your bulletin. Here's what to look for, and what you won't always find.

Pesticides

31.5% of French distribution networks contain pesticides, and 5.7% of UDIs (i.e. 1,377 units) are in regulatory non-compliance. The most disturbing figure concerns a pollutant that has become invisible: chlorothalonil R471811, the pesticide metabolite most found in French drinking water, present in 22.3% of IDUs. This metabolite was “downgraded” to irrelevant in 2024. It no longer appears in official statistics, a true ghost pollutant missing from your standard bulletin while still circulating in water.

Nitrates

The national average concentration in groundwater reaches around 29 mg/L, above the guideline value of 25 mg/L set by the WHO, according to the SDES. Currently, 167 IDUs exceed the quality limit of 50 mg/L. Nitrate vulnerable areas cover approximately 57% of the national useful agricultural area.

PFAS

Mandatory control of PFAS in drinking water has only been in effect since January 2026, according to UFC-Que Choisir. Before this date, these “eternal pollutants” did not appear in municipal bulletins. Even more worrying: trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), the most widespread PFAS, is detected in 92% of distributed water samples according to the ANSES national campaign (2023-2025), without being subject to any regulatory standards.

Perchlorates

No official regulatory limit, no obligation for systematic research. However, perchlorates are present at high concentrations in several municipalities in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Picardy and Champagne-Ardenne, as reported Franceinfo. A legacy of munitions from the First World War, they remain a regulatory blind spot.

Essential point: The absence of a pollutant in your report does not mean its absence in your water. It may simply mean that he is not wanted.

Regional risk map: the 3 pollutants to monitor depending on your region

The risks are not uniform across French territory. Depending on your location, the priority pollutants to look for in your bulletin differ. Here is a regionalized reading grid to quickly identify the critical parameters in your area.

Brittany and Normandy

Nitrates close to the threshold: watch for values between 40 and 50 mg/L in your bulletin. These regions concentrate the highest levels of groundwater in France.
Agricultural pesticides: metolachlor, desphenyl chloridazone and their metabolites are frequently detected in Breton and Normandy catchments.
Declassified pesticide metabolites: chlorothalonil R471811, present in 22.3% of IDUs nationally, no longer appears in the standard bulletin since its declassification in 2024. Impossible to spot without additional analyses.

Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy

Perchlorates: without regulatory limits, they are nevertheless present in high concentrations in these regions, a direct legacy of the combat zones of 1914-1918. 709 IDUs are subject to consumption restriction recommendations, mainly due to these compounds.
Pesticides in non-compliance: desphenyl chloridazone alone is responsible for 86% of pesticide non-compliance nationally, and these regions are particularly affected.
Nitrates in groundwater: groundwater tables in the North regularly display values above the guideline value of 25 mg/L.

Ardennes, Meuse and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

PFAS: in Villy (Ardennes), the concentration reached 2,729 ng/L of PFAS, or up to 27 times the regulatory limit, according to Disclosed.
PFOA: in 16 municipalities in the Ardennes and Meuse, the health authorities measured an excess of the maximum health value of PFOA (75 ng/L).
Industrial pesticides: the industrial zones of the Rhône valley combine pesticides and PFAS from chemical production sites.

Paris Basin and Île-de-France

Chloridazone desphenyl: responsible for 86% of pesticide non-compliances, this metabolite is particularly present in Ile-de-France catchments.
PFAS: coming from industrial zones and airports, they contaminate the water tables of the Paris basin.
Nitrates in groundwater: concentrations regularly remain above the guideline value of 25 mg/L.

Concrete advice: in your bulletin, identify the 3 parameters whose measured value exceeds 80 to 90% of the maximum authorized threshold. This is the red flag that should not be ignored, even when “compliant” appears.

Compliance does not mean purity: understanding the health gray zone

This is the central paradox of this subject, and it deserves attention. A “compliant” bulletin can mask concentrations close to the threshold without ever exceeding it. Compliance is an administrative line, not a guarantee of purity.

Here are numerical examples. Nitrates at 45 mg/L for a threshold of 50 mg/L: compliant on paper, but at 90% of the maximum. Pesticides at 0.09 µg/L for a threshold of 0.1 µg/L: also compliant, but a hair short of exceeding. These values do not appear anywhere in red in your report card. No alert is triggered.

The problem worsens with pollutants absent from the bulletin before 2026. TFA, detected in 92% of distributed water samples according to ANSES, is not subject to any regulatory standard. Chlorothalonil R471811, present in 22.3% of IDUs, was removed from official statistics after its decommissioning in 2024. Perchlorates have neither regulatory limits nor systematic research requirements.

These are not isolated cases. Since 1980, 14,640 drinking water catchments have been closed in France, including 31.9% due to excessive presence of pesticides or nitrates, according to data from the SDES. The pressure on water resources is very real, and it cannot be read in a simple “compliant” statement.

Critical reading of the bulletin, value by value, parameter by parameter, remains the only way to truly evaluate your exposure. Never stop at the health conclusion alone.

When and why to consider a gravity filter after reading your newsletter

You have read your newsletter. You have identified the parameters close to the threshold. The question that now arises is concrete: in what cases is the installation of a gravity filter justified?

Case 1: presence of pesticides in the bulletin, even below the threshold. The activated carbon present in gravity filter cartridges is recognized for its effectiveness on pesticides and chlorine. If your bulletin mentions pesticides, even at compliant concentrations, a gravity filter constitutes a relevant additional barrier.

Case 2: nitrates close to or above 40 mg/L. A simple ceramic filter is not enough for dissolved nitrates. You need a cartridge equipped with an ion exchange resin, specifically designed to reduce nitrates. Check the cartridge specifications before purchasing.

Case 3: “compliant” bulletin but region at risk for PFAS or perchlorates. Unregulated pollutants are not included in the bulletin. If you live in the Ardennes, the Meuse, the Lyon region or Nord-Pas-de-Calais, certain advanced cartridges such as the filter imperial AMB document a reduction of more than 200 substances, including PFAS, microplastics, heavy metals, viruses and bacteria, with laboratory certification Envirotek Laboratories, Inc.

Case 4: presence of lead (old buildings, obsolete pipes). A gravity filter equipped with an NSF/ANSI certified cartridge for lead can significantly reduce this contaminant.

The gravity filter works without electricity, without complex installation and without subscription. It represents up to 80% Savings compared to bottled water, while eliminating associated plastic waste. When choosing your system, favor independent third-party certifications (NSF INTERNATIONAL, IAPMO R&T, ENVIROTEK LABORATORIES, SGS): these are the only truly reliable selection criteria.

How to choose the right cartridge according to the pollutants in your bulletin

Not all gravity filters are created equal. The choice of cartridge depends directly on the pollutants identified in your bulletin. Here is a simple correspondence table:

Pesticides and chlorine → activated carbon cartridge (block or granulated)
Nitrates → cartridge with ion exchange resin (check the capacity in mg/L indicated by the manufacturer)
Bacteria, parasites, sediment → ceramic filter
Multiple pollutants (PFAS, heavy metals, microplastics, viruses) → certified multi-stage cartridges, such as the Imperial AMB, NSF filter, Envirotek laboratories certified on more than 200 substances.

Before purchasing, request certification sheets and independent test reports from the manufacturer. A marketing claim without a laboratory report is worthless. NSF/ANSI certifications and testing, ENVIROTEK LABORATORIES, INC. | NSF INTERNATIONAL | IAPMO R&T LABORATORY | SGS | INTERTEK | EUROFINS SCIENTIFIC, are the references to look for.

Don't forget to renew the cartridges regularly. A saturated cartridge loses its filtration efficiency. Follow the replacement intervals indicated by the manufacturer to maintain consistent protection.

→ Consult the NSF certifications and performance analyzes of all the filtration systems offered on our site

Take action after reading your newsletter: concrete steps

Here is the 4-step process to move from reading your newsletter to taking concrete action:

Download your newsletter on the portal of the Ministry of Health (via Service-Public.gouv.fr). It takes less than 5 minutes.
Identify the 3 parameters closest to their maximum allowed threshold. Focus on values that exceed 80% of the threshold: nitrates above 40 mg/L, pesticides above 0.08 µg/L, etc.
Cross-reference with the regional risk map presented in this article to identify unregulated pollutants in your area (PFAS, perchlorates, declassified metabolites).
Choose a gravity filter with the right cartridge to identified pollutants, by verifying independent certifications.

Since January 2026, municipal bulletins have gradually included PFAS data. This is an additional reason to consult your report card now: the results could reveal new non-compliances in your municipality.

A gravity filter requires no plumber, electricity or subscription. It is suitable for all households, from 1 to 6 people or more, depending on the capacity chosen. If you are unsure about the model or cartridge suitable for your situation, our telephone customer service is available from Monday to Friday to guide you in your choice, bulletin in hand.

To get started with complete peace of mind: free delivery from €89 and returns accepted within 30 days.