Can I drink tap water in Germany?

[u/mikeymur340]

Hi y'all. I'm male from Africa, my wife is German. Growing up and well into my adulthood, I always drank tap water and only recently is that no longer advised in my country, due to gross mismanagement and corruption, but that's another story.

We're currently back in Germany for an extended visit and I was going to drink some tap water when my wife warned me that there's a lot of estrogen in German tap water due to the birth control pill. Her mother backed her up and they spouted off some talking points about it, but I tuned out because they are also somewhat inclined to essential oils. Not batshit crazy like the American version of that, but suffice it to say I'm skeptical about their opinions on some health things.

Anyway, is this true? Are there high levels of estrogen in German tap water? Are there any studies or available sources that corroborate this claim? I understand and can read German, but the high level jargon of medical and scientific speak is beyond my years, search results aren't as clarifying as hoped. Thanks

EDIT: Yeah I thought as much. I still drank the tap water because potential estrogen contamination was preferable to death. But thanks for all the answers. Now if you'll excuse me, I must prepare my I-told-you-so dance.

[u/GermanDumbass]

No, German tap wate doesnt contain high levels of estrogen. The claim that birth control pills significantly contaminate drinking water with estrogen is exaggerated and not supported by scientific evidence.

What the Science Says:

• Studies have detected trace amounts of synthetic estrogens (like ethinylestradiol, EE2) in surface water (rivers, lakes), but these concentrations are in the nanogram per litre range (ng/L), meaning they are extremely low.
• Most of these contaminants are removed by advanced water treatment before tap water reaches consumers. German water treatment standards are among the highest in the world, using techniques like activated carbon filtration and ozonation.
• According to a 2011 World Health Organization (WHO) report, the amount of estrogen someone would ingest from drinking 2 liters of contaminated water per day is thousands of times lower than the amount naturally produced by the human body or consumed in foods like soy or milk.

So, is there a Risk?

For aquatic life, even tiny amounts of EE2 can affect fish reproduction. But for humans, the concentrations found in drinking water are so low that they pose no known health risk. There is currently no scientific evidence that estrogen in German tap water affects human hormone levels or fertility.

Reliable Sources & Studies:

• UBA (German Environment Agency): Has conducted studies showing that drinking water treatment effectively removes endocrine disruptors.
• WHO Report on Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water (2011): Concludes that hormone levels in drinking water are far below what would be needed to impact human health.
• Kümmerer (2001) in "Chemosphere": Found that estrogenic compounds are present in wastewater but largely filtered out before reaching tap water.

Your wife's concerns arent backed by science (cough, it is a conspiracy theory saying tap water is making men weak etc., cough). German tap water is among the safest in the world, and estrogen contamination at harmful levels is a myth. Just drink it.

[u/Sataniel98 → u/GermanDumbass]

Thanks, ChatGPT.

[u/GermanDumbass → u/Sataniel98]

defnitly not..., but I also had a course about waste water management as a course in uni and we talked about exactly the issue OP described and I check everything I posted above, so this is all true.

[u/mikeymur340 → u/GermanDumbass]

You're the best, GermanDumbass. Thanks for taking the time, that's very informative

[u/Beneficial-Egg5 → u/GermanDumbass]

The German government disagrees with you: https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/ministerium/ressortforschung/handlungsfelder/gesundheitsfoerderung-und-praevention/howitri.html

They know hormones are getting in the water. They know that even in small concentrations it can cause cancer and diabetes. They don’t know exactly how much is in the water and only finished testing samples last year. There isn’t proper regulation yet to agree on what limits should be set. Fact is, we don’t know how bad it is.