Is the Water Safe in The Gambia?
Gambia Vibes · Travel Tips · Health
No, do not drink the tap water in The Gambia. Not in Banjul, not in the resort hotels on the coast, not in a village upriver. That is not an insult to the country. It is what the country's own surveys and its own water regulator say.
The good news: staying safe is easy and cheap once you know how. Here is what is really in the water, why the supply is unreliable, and the simple rules that keep most visitors free of "Banjul belly".
Search our Network. Start here.
The short answer
- Tap water: do not drink it, and do not trust it in drinks
- Bottled water: safe if the seal is unbroken, and sold everywhere
- Ice: usually fine in larger hotels and restaurants that make it from treated water. Ask. In doubt, go without.
- Brushing teeth: use bottled water if you have a sensitive stomach
- Salads and fruit: choose fruit you peel yourself; be careful with raw salads at small stalls
What the surveys found
The Gambia's national household survey of 2019 (MICS) tested drinking water inside people's homes. It found E. coli in the drinking water of 73.2% of the population. Among households using piped water, the share was 31.7%. Among households using boreholes and wells, about 70% were at risk. In rural areas the figure was over 92%.
In 2022 the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) put it another way: most households have access to a basic water source, but only 33.8% use a "safely managed" one.
Piped water in The Gambia is better than a well, but in almost a third of homes using it, the water reaching the glass still carried E. coli.
The water in numbers
| Finding | Figure |
|---|---|
| Population with E. coli in household drinking water (MICS 2019) | 73.2% |
| Piped-water users affected | 31.7% |
| Borehole and well users at risk | about 70% |
| Rural households affected | over 92% |
| Households using a safely managed source (PURA, 2022) | 33.8% |
| Nitrate in Bakau and Old Jeshwang supply, against a 10 mg/L safe limit | 12 to 18 mg/L, at times above 20 |
Why the tap is not reliable
One supplier, ageing pipes
NAWEC, the National Water and Electricity Company, is the country's only piped-water supplier. Burst pipes are common. In 2015, two-thirds of the complaints PURA received were about them, and every burst lets dirt into the system. In 2020 PURA fined NAWEC about 3.5 million dalasi over problems at four treatment plants.
Iron, nitrate and boreholes
In some places the water is not only at risk from germs. In Gunjur, residents have complained of red and orange water with a strong iron taste. In Bakau and Old Jeshwang, nitrate levels have stayed above the safe limit for years. Many hotels, compounds and institutions also run their own private boreholes, which are usually untreated.
No power, no water
Pumps need electricity. When NAWEC's power fails, the water often fails with it. Areas such as Brikama and Wellingara have seen long water shortages. In July 2026 the UK Foreign Office added advice on power shortages and preparing for power cuts to its Gambia guidance. If the tap runs dry for hours and then comes back, the first water out of the pipe is the most likely to be dirty.
Who should be extra careful
Children, pregnant women, older travellers and anyone with a weak immune system should treat every glass of water as a risk. Use bottled water for baby formula and for children brushing their teeth. If you get diarrhoea with fever or blood, or a child becomes dehydrated, see a doctor. Do not wait it out. See our health guide for clinics and hospitals.
How visitors stay safe
- Bottled water only. Check that the seal is unbroken. Large bottles are cheaper; buy a pack for your room.
- Water sachets. Gambians drink a lot of water from small sealed plastic bags. They are cheap and many are fine, but quality varies between producers. Visitors are better off with bottles.
- Ice. In bigger hotels and restaurants, ice is usually made from treated water. At beach bars and small stalls, ask for your drink without ice.
- Juice and bissap. Fresh baobab juice, bissap (hibiscus) and ginger drinks are a joy, but homemade ones are often mixed with tap water. Drink them where you trust the kitchen.
- Food. Hot, freshly cooked food is the safest. Peel your own fruit. Be careful with raw salads washed in tap water.
- Filter bottle. A good filter or purifier bottle cuts plastic waste and is useful upriver, where shops are fewer.
- Rehydration salts. Pack a few sachets of oral rehydration salts. They are the first thing to reach for if your stomach goes.
Upriver and on day trips
The further you go from the coast, the fewer shops you pass. On a trip to Kunta Kinteh Island, Wassu or Janjanbureh, take more water than you think you need: at least two litres per person for a hot day. In the dry season, from about November to May, the heat on the river is strong and there is little shade. See the best time to visit.
A country with plenty of water
The sad irony is that The Gambia is a country built around one of West Africa's great rivers, with good groundwater under much of the coast. The problem is not the amount of water. It is treatment, pipes, power and money. The European Investment Bank and the World Bank are financing water and energy projects for Greater Banjul, and towns such as Bansang are getting new metering schemes. Until that work reaches the tap, the advice to visitors stays the same: bottled water, and a little care.
Let a local guide handle the logistics. On a guided day trip your guide knows where to stop for safe water and food along the way. These tours are run by local operators in The Gambia. Entrance fees are already included in the tour price. Tips for your guide, driver and boat crew are not included, but they are always welcome.
More Gambia travel tips
- Health in The Gambia: malaria, yellow fever and hospitals
- The Gambia tourist tax and airport fees
- Gambia travel advice: safety, bumsters and honest tips
- Tipping in The Gambia
- Money in The Gambia
- Getting around The Gambia
- The Gambia tourist information
Where to go
- Banjul, the capital
- The Gambian coast: beaches from Bakau to Kartong
- River Gambia National Park and the Baboon Islands
Across the network
Sources: CCIJ, "The Gambia's Water Paradox" (2021), citing MICS 2019 and PURA. The Standard, PURA on safe drinking water, June 2022. PURA Water Unit. The Point on water shortages. EIB, Sustainable Water Supply Greater Banjul. AllAfrica on Bansang, April 2026. UK FCDO travel advice, The Gambia.
Gambia Vibes · Part of the Ghana-Net network · Updated and fact-checked: 6 November 2026