Drinking water - report contamination
In the case of public water supply, the municipal water suppliers or water supply companies are responsible for supplying or providing consumers with safe drinking water. In accordance with legal requirements,
no pathogens or harmful substances may be present in drinking water 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 may be contaminated, you should report it.
The water supplier or water supply company or the operator of the building's water supply system must investigate the problem, for example by testing the drinking water.
In the case of justified complaints, the local health authority can also arrange for an official drinking water test.
Responsible authority
- the local water supplier or
- the operator of the building water supply system (e.g. homeowner, landlord or homeowners' association) or
- the local health authority
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
Contact one of the following organisations with your suspicions using the contact form or e-mail, in writing or by telephone:
- Your water supplier
- 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.
A representative of the water supplier or the public health department or the laboratory commissioned by them can visit your household or business if they suspect contamination and take a drinking water sample.
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. In the morning in particular, you should let the water run for a while until it comes out of the tap consistently cool. 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.
Legal basis
Verordnung über die Qualität von Wasser für den menschlichen Gebrauch (Trinkwasserverordnung - TrinkwV)
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: 08.08.2025 Ministerium für Ernährung, Ländlichen Raum und Verbraucherschutz