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Procedure descriptions

Drinking water - report contamination

Water supply companies or operators of water supply systems are responsible for supplying or providing consumers with safe drinking water.
Drinking water must not contain pathogens or harmful substances in dangerous quantities.

Note: Drinking water can also be contaminated within the building water supply system. In this case, the homeowner or landlord is responsible for compliance with the quality requirements for drinking water and the regulations for operating the water distribution system.
This also applies with regard to any necessary renovation of the pipework.

Changes in the taste, odour or colour of the water can be indications of contamination.
If you have the impression that your drinking water could be contaminated, you should report it.

The water supply company or the operator of the building's water supply system must investigate the problem, for example by carrying out their own tests.
If there are justified complaints, the local health authority can also have an official drinking water test carried out.

Responsible department

  • the local water supply company or
  • the operator of the building water supply system (e.g. homeowner, landlord or homeowners' association) or
  • the local public health department

The responsible health authority is

  • the district office,
  • if you live in the city districts of Stuttgart, Mannheim or Heilbronn: the respective city administration,
  • if you live in the other urban districts: the district office of the neighbouring district

Details

Prerequisite

You notice impurities or unusual changes in your drinking water.

Procedure

Please contact one of the following organisations with your suspicions using the contact form or e-mail, in writing or by telephone:

  • the water supply company
  • the operator of the building water supply system (e.g. homeowner, landlord) or
  • the health authority responsible for your place of residence
    The responsible health authority is either
    • the district office or
    • if you live in the city districts of Stuttgart, Mannheim or Heilbronn: the respective city administration, or
    • if you live in the other urban districts: the district office of the neighbouring district.

In particular, you should describe the following properties of the water in detail:

  • Colour
  • Flavour
  • Odour
  • general properties (e.g. foaming)

This information can give the experts an indication of the type of contamination.

Employees of the water supply company or the public health department or laboratories commissioned by them can visit your household or business and take a drinking water sample if they suspect contamination.
This will be analysed in a laboratory to find the cause of the contamination (e.g. additives used in drinking water treatment, deposits in pipes).

Deadlines

none

Required documents

none

Costs

for official drinking water tests due to a consumer complaint: none

For more information, please contact your local health authority.

Miscellaneous

Tap water in Germany is of drinking water quality. You can drink it without hesitation. Make sure that the water has not "stood" in the tap for more than about 4 hours. Especially in the morning, you should let the water run for a while until it comes out of the tap at a constant cool temperature. As a precaution, you should also only drink cold water or use it to prepare food and heat the water if necessary, for example using a kettle. Certain substances that pass from the pipe material into the water are mainly found in hot water, but not to any significant extent in cold water.

Release note

machine generated, based on the German release by: 25.07.2024 Ministerium für Ernährung, Ländlichen Raum und Verbraucherschutz