Berkey water filter nonsense? A better alternative

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What is a Berkey water filter?

The best-known models are the 5.7-litre Travel Berkey, the 8.5-litre Big Berkey and the 12.3-litre Royal Berkey. On 24 August 2026, prices at Dutch webshops ranged from around 300 to 485 euros, depending on the model and the number of filter elements. According to the supplier, a set of Black Berkey elements lasts for up to around 22,700 litres.

The principle is therefore fundamentally different from that of an in-line filter. If you want to know exactly which filtration techniques exist and what they do and don't address, that's the place to start. For the technology behind this specific type, we have a separate explanation of how a gravity water filter works.

Where does "Berkey water filter nonsense" come from?

The search term "berkey water filter nonsense" is typed into Google in the Netherlands around 110 times a month, with a peak of 210 times in November. That is not random curiosity: almost everyone who searches for this is about to spend a few hundred euros and wants to know first whether they're being taken for a ride.

The term has two roots. The first is a broadcast of Keuringsdienst van Waarde from April 2021, in which water filters in the Netherlands were dismissed as "utter nonsense". That broadcast tested one cheap filter jug, not a gravity system, and that distinction got lost in the conclusion. The second root is American: the conflict between Berkey and the environmental agency EPA, which led to a sales stop and a lawsuit in 2023.

On top of that comes ordinary market noise. Berkey marketing leans heavily on emergency situations, off-grid living and filtering ditch water, while the average Dutch buyer simply wants better-tasting tap water. When a product is sold to you for a different purpose, it feels like exaggeration, even if the product itself is sound.

The four criticisms, one by one

At PureFilter we don't sell Berkey ourselves, so we have an interest in being critical. That's exactly why we go through the points to check what's factually correct, even where the answer is uncomfortable for the critic.

1. There is no NSF certification, and that's correct

This is the critics' strongest point. Berkey publishes test reports from independent laboratories, but has no NSF/ANSI certification for the Black Berkey elements. The difference is bigger than it seems. A lab test is a snapshot of one sample under chosen conditions. Certification under NSF/ANSI 42, 53 and 401 means that an independent party tests the whole system, assesses the materials, periodically inspects the factory and checks the claim on the packaging. NSF maintains a publicly searchable register of this, so you can check it yourself for any brand.

The absence of certification doesn't mean a filter doesn't work. It means you have to trust the manufacturer and its choice of laboratory instead of an independent check. For an emergency filter in the shed, that's an acceptable risk. For the water your family drinks every day, it's a different consideration.

2. The EPA case about the silver in the filters

In late 2022, the American environmental agency EPA classified the Black Berkey elements as a pesticide device under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, because they contain silver to prevent bacterial growth in the filter. That led to a sales stop and, in August 2023, to a lawsuit by manufacturer New Millennium Concepts against the EPA, the documents of which are on the EPA's website. The case was initially dismissed for lack of standing and has been before the court of appeal ever since.

What this does say: there is a real legal dispute about the classification and the labelling. What this does not say: that the silver poisons the water. Silver in filter material is a common method to prevent a damp carbon block from becoming a breeding ground, and that problem is real. Keuringsdienst van Waarde demonstrated exactly that effect in 2021 with a saturated filter jug.

3. The lifespan figures contradict each other

Here the sceptic has a point again. On Dutch review sites you find, for the same system, a lifespan of "9 years", "up to 11,000 litres per pair of elements" and "up to 22,700 litres per set" side by side, plus replacement costs of "around 17 euros per year". Those figures can't all be true at the same time, and which one applies depends entirely on how many litres you run through it per day and how dirty your water is.

That's not a minor detail. With a filter that has no saturation indicator, the stated capacity is your only clue as to when you need to replace it. If the supplier's figures differ by a factor of two, you don't know when your filter is spent. The same problem applies to filter jugs, and it's exactly why in our article on how often you should replace a water filter we argue for a fixed term instead of a feeling.

4. It's built for a different problem than yours

This is the most important one, and it's not a criticism of Berkey. The system is designed to make water of unknown or poor quality drinkable: rainwater, surface water, water during an outage or a disaster. It's good at that, and the silver treatment and the broad microbiological claim belong to that purpose too.

Dutch tap water is not water of unknown quality. According to the RIVM, drinking water quality meets the set standards in more than 99.9 percent of measurements, and Vewin points out that drinking water here is more strictly regulated than food. Microbiologically, then, there is nothing wrong, and much of what a Berkey can do is overcapacity here. What remains is a different question: the substances that treatment doesn't fully stop.

What Berkey actually does well

A fair piece must also show the other side. On these points the system is strong, and no amount of scepticism changes that.

• Works without electricity or pressure: during a power outage, a burst pipe or on a boat, it simply keeps working. That makes it a serious candidate for a water filter in your emergency kit.
• No installation: unpack it, put the elements in, add water. Ideal in a rented home where you're not allowed to change anything on the pipework.
• Stainless steel: no plastic reservoir that discolours or starts to smell after two years.
• Retains minerals: unlike reverse osmosis, the carbon elements don't strip out calcium and magnesium. That's a real advantage, and the reason we apply the same principle.
• Large supply at once: 8.5 litres of filtered water in the jug is handy when four people sit down at the table together.

Anyone selecting on these characteristics will logically end up with a gravity system. Berkey is not the only player here: the ceramic alternative from Doulton works on the same principle and is easier to get hold of in the Netherlands. We tested that brand separately in our Doulton water filter review.

What you actually want to remove from your water in the Netherlands

If bacteria and viruses aren't the problem here, what is? Three categories, and they are three things an emergency filter isn't designed for.

PFAS

The legally permitted amount for twenty different PFAS is, according to the RIVM, 100 nanograms per litre, and Dutch drinking water meets that. But based on new knowledge about effects on the immune system, the RIVM now advises a stricter guideline value of 4.4 nanograms per litre, expressed as PFOA equivalents. That is a factor of 23 stricter than the law. For food and drinking water combined, the average Dutch person is above the health-based limit. We explain what PFAS are and why they don't break down in our piece on PFAS and forever chemicals.

Heavy metals from your own pipework

The water that leaves the pumping station is not necessarily the water that comes out of your tap. Homes built before 1960 may still have lead pipes: an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 houses in the Netherlands. Copper pipes and brass taps also release traces. That's a problem that only arises after the meter cupboard, so no amount of treatment by your water utility solves it.

Medicine residues, microplastics and taste

This is the category most people ultimately buy a filter for, and the RIVM is remarkably open about it. The institute explicitly names medicines, insecticides, biocides, cosmetics, flame retardants and nanoparticles as a concern for drinking water sources, because sewage treatment plants still can't properly remove these substances. The remaining concentrations are very low and, according to the RIVM, pose no risk to public health, but they are present, and the use of these substances is increasing further due to an ageing population.

At PureFilter we find that customers rarely come to us afraid of bacteria; they want their water to taste better and want precisely that residual category removed. That calls for multi-stage filtration with activated carbon and enough contact time, not a silver treatment against pathogens.

For anyone specifically concerned about that first category, we have a separate page on the water filter against PFAS with the measured values per filter stage.

Berkey next to an under-sink water filter

Placed side by side, the differences become concrete. The Berkey column is based on figures from suppliers and Dutch review sites, measured on 24 August 2026.

The honest conclusion from that table: these aren't competitors doing the same thing. One solves the problem that you don't have a reliable water source. The other solves the problem that you have reliable water from which you still want to remove something. We've also put those two approaches side by side on our comparison page PureFilter vs Berkey.

What does it cost per year?

The price argument is misused by both camps, so let's just do the maths for a two-person household using 3 litres of filtered water per day, around 1,100 litres per year.

In the long run, both filter options are dramatically cheaper than bottled water, and that's the real argument. The difference lies in the entry cost: €149.00 versus 300 euros or more. Anyone who prefers to base the calculation on water price will find the underlying figures in our article on what a cubic metre of water costs.

Buying advice: when to choose it, when not to

Choose a Berkey if you don't have a reliable tap

If you live off-grid, spend a lot of time on a boat or in a camper van, or want to be prepared for a prolonged failure of the water supply, then a gravity system is the right choice. With one caveat: the RIVM warns that collected rainwater isn't automatically clean enough to drink, because it can contain bacteria and viruses from bird droppings, plus lead from old downpipes and pesticides from the surroundings. Always let rainwater settle and pre-filter it first, and treat the gravity filter as the last step, not the only step.

Choose a Berkey if you're not allowed to change anything on your pipework

In some rented homes or a listed building, connecting to the cold water pipe is difficult. That said, it rarely has to be a blocker: we've written up separately how a water filter in a rented home can work without modifying the pipework.

Don't choose a Berkey if it's about your daily tap water

If you pay 350 euros to rid Dutch tap water of pathogens that aren't in it, and the system sits permanently on your counter for that purpose, you're buying the wrong tool. For daily drinking and cooking you want certification, a fixed replacement term and no manual refilling. Our overview of the best water filter compares the types against those criteria.

Don't choose a Berkey if certification matters a lot to you

If you want to be able to verify that an independent party has checked the claim, then Berkey is out, and so are most filter jugs. We've looked into why a popular jug doesn't solve that in our Brita water filter review. If you'd rather first take a look at the water filters we supply, you'll find the full range there along with the corresponding certifications.

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

Is a Berkey water filter nonsense? No. Gravity filtration works, the build quality is good, and the system does something no in-line filter can match: it works without a connection. But the criticism isn't unfounded either. There is no NSF certification, the capacity figures differ by a factor of two, and the American EPA case about the silver in the filter elements hasn't been resolved yet.

The real question isn't whether Berkey is any good, but whether it solves your problem. If you don't have a reliable tap, it's an excellent choice. If you have Dutch tap water that, according to the RIVM, meets the standards in more than 99.9 percent of measurements, then you're buying an emergency solution for a problem you don't have, and paying 300 euros or more for it. What you do want to tackle then is the residual category: PFAS, heavy metals from your own pipework, medicine residues and taste. For that there's a certified under-sink system that adds minerals back instead of removing them, for less than one cent per litre, with a 40-day free return and a 5-year guarantee.