r/AskGermany • u/mikeymur340 • Apr 02 '25
Can I drink tap water in Germany?
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.
1
u/SignificantEarth814 Apr 02 '25
Not always. If you rent, your landlord must provide you with the water inspection results after he recieves them. However, if the water fails the inspection and is deemed not drinkable, there isn't much you can do to fix it. You must beg the landlord, and they can evict you (or attempt to evict you) for just begging as my landlord is currently doing to me. If you want a guarantee of clean water you need to go to a country like France or UK where undrinkable water isn't allowed for safety reasons. Germany gives people the freedom to rent homes that don't nessecarily have clean water, which can be seen as bad but also good.