Drinking water – Report contamination
In the public water supply system, local water suppliers or water companies are responsible for supplying or providing consumers with safe drinking water. In accordance with legal requirements,
drinking water must not contain any pathogens or pollutants in hazardous quantities.
Note: Drinking water can also become contaminated within a building’s water supply system. In such cases, homeowners or landlords are responsible for ensuring compliance with drinking water quality standards and the regulations governing the operation of the water distribution system.
This also applies to any necessary pipe renovation work.
Changes in the taste, smell or colour of the water may indicate contamination.
If you suspect that your drinking water may be contaminated, you should report it.
Water suppliers, water companies or the operator of the building’s water supply system must investigate the problem, for example by carrying out drinking water tests.
In the event of justified complaints, the local public health authority may also arrange for an official drinking water test to be carried out.
Responsible authority
- the local water supplier or
- the operator of the building’s water supply system (for example, the homeowner, landlord or residents’ association) or
- the relevant local public health authority
The relevant public health authority is
- the district administration office,
- if you live in the urban districts of Stuttgart, Mannheim or Heilbronn: the respective city council,
- if you live in the other urban districts: the district office of the surrounding district
Contact
Details
Prerequisite
You notice impurities or unusual changes in your drinking water.
Procedure
Please report your concerns to one of the following organisations via the contact form, by email, in writing or by telephone:
- Your water supplier
- the operator of the building’s water supply system (e.g. the homeowner or landlord) or
- the public health authority responsible for your place of residence
The relevant public health authority is either- the district administration office or,
- if you live in the city districts of Stuttgart, Mannheim or Heilbronn: the relevant city council, or
- if you live in the other urban districts: the district office of the surrounding district.
You should, in particular, describe the following characteristics of the water in detail:
- Colour
- Taste
- Odour
- General appearance (e.g. foaming)
This information can provide experts with clues as to the nature of the contamination.
A representative from the water supplier or the public health authority, or a laboratory commissioned by them, may visit your home or business if contamination is suspected and take a drinking water sample.
This sample is analysed in a laboratory to identify 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 following a consumer complaint: none
Note: For further information, please contact your local public health authority.
Miscellaneous
Tap water in Germany is of drinking water quality. You can drink it without any concerns. Please note, however, that the water should not have been ‘standing’ in the pipes for more than about four hours beforehand. Especially in the mornings, you should let the water run for a while until it comes out of the tap at a consistently cool temperature. As a precaution, you should also only drink cold water or use it for food preparation, and heat the water if necessary, for example using a kettle. Certain substances that leach from the pipework into the water are found mainly 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: Ministerium Ländlichen Raum Baden-Württemberg, 29.05.2026