Despite intensive water purification treatments, experts have found traces of cocaine in Britain’s treated tap water.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate has revealed that use of the party drug is so high that it has appeared, in digested form, in Britain’s water sources.

The findings indicate that consumption of cocaine is high across Britain, with charity DrugScope estimating that 700,000 Britons aged 16 to 59 use cocaine while 180,000 take crack cocaine, according to The Mirror.

“We have the near-highest level of cocaine use in western Europe,” said Steve Rolles of drug policy think-tank Transform.

“It has been getting cheaper and cheaper.”

According to a report in The Sunday Times, tests also uncovered traces of ibuprofen, caffeine and epilepsy-treatment drug carbamazepine in tap water.

However, experts insisted the levels were so small they were unlikely to have an effect on human health.

If cocaine is so high it really has contaminated British drinking water, then that explains an awful lot of Twitter.

— Tiernan Douieb (@TiernanDouieb) May 11, 2014