Tap Water (Leitungswasser) is Drinkable in Germany? - [2024]

While moving to Germany, you would be thinking if you can drink tap water or not. This article guides about the tap water in Germany. 

Sources of Tap Water

There are a lot of central water facilities in Germany who are responsible for dispensing quality water to specific areas across Germany. The Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) UBA checks and tests water samples from different areas to ensure the quality of water. Here are the sources of taking water;

• 69% groundwater which is the biggest source.
• 15% surface water.
• 16% comes bank filtrate and artificially recharged groundwater.

Features of Tap Water

Here are some key features of tap water in Germany;

• No fluorination or chlorination is done that ensures no presence of impurity in water.
• Nitrate is a common impurity near agricultural land. But, UBA, the German environmental agency has found nitrate above the limit, almost nowhere.
• Bacteria (E.coli) is another water contaminant, but German water is free of it.
• UBA tests samples for lead poisoning which is the most dangerous water impurity that can cause severe health issues like cancer. Due to this, it is compulsory for water facilities to issue a warning when lead in water is detected. German tap water is free of any lead.
• Chromium quantity is below hazardous levels. 
• Delicious and pure water.

Ways to Improve Quality of Tap Water

Tap water is very safe by UBA, as they highlight even small amounts of impurities in it. Microplastic is included in water and this is the most common issue everywhere in Europe, so try to improve the quality of water by following ways.

Tap Filters

Use filters even if you know the water is safe. It will improve the quality and taste of water by removing small impurities from it.

Boil Water

Boiling water helps to remove impurities from water in an easy way. Use tap water in cooking as it will boil automatically, but for drinking, boil the water once as needed and fill in a water cooler or bottles to use it the whole day. You can have a boiling system in your building through which you can use tap water directly and it will have no contamination.

When To Avoid Tap Water in Germany?

Here are the cases when you should not consume tap water in Germany.

• If the plumbing system is very old, water pipes will have lead and other toxicants. 
• If chemicals are dumped into the water reservoirs that are used by the central water facility.
• If you find a public warning of “Wasser ist nicht gut” or “Wasser ist nicht trinkbar”, that means water isn’t drinkable.

Tap Water vs Bottled Water

Tap water is very nutritious but many people prefer bottled or mineral water. Germans drink a total of 147 liters of mineral water per annum and sales are increasing with time by over 500 brands of bottled water. Here is the comparison between tap water and bottled water.

Role of German Restaurants

German restaurants have built the misconception that tap water is not safe as they want to sell bottled water to increase their profits. If you ask for tap water, German restaurants will refuse to provide it that have negative impact on public and tourists and they think that tap water is not safe.

How to Ask for Water at a German Restaurant?

German restaurants do not serve tap water, so you must know how to order bottled water.

• Use Spritzig, Sprudelwasser, Mineralwasser, Prickelnd, Sprudel, and Selters to order sparkling water.
• Use Wasser ohne Kohlensãure/Gas or stilles to order non-carbonated bottled water.
• Use Leitungswasser to order tap water. Leitungswasser, means ‘plumbing water’.

Conclusion

If you are new to Germany, do not scare of the tap water as it is normal to drink tap water. Some may prefer bottled water or sparkling water. The expense of buying a carbonator, the toil of carbonating the water and keeping gas for carbonation, is just not worth it. It is good to get a bottle of sprinkled water, but if you can manage with normal water, do not spend money on bottled water.