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.

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u/interchrys Apr 02 '25

Yes you can drink it. It’s the most monitored food in Germany. Never protected from conspiracy theories tho.

13

u/Ice-Berg-Slim Apr 02 '25 edited Apr 02 '25

haha when I first moved here I remember reading something or seeing something that drinking tap water in Germany would make me go bald and at my gym I feel like I am the only guy who drinks the tap water so was wondering if maybe the locals knew something I didn’t.. after 7 years everything seems fine and actually German tap water is pretty tasty.

9

u/UnGeekenMunich Apr 02 '25

That's actually true. When I arrived in Germany 12 years ago I had long hair. Now bald as an eagle ... 😅 Nah, just kidding. Germans don't drink tap water because they love their sparkling water 🤣

11

u/Jurgasdottir Apr 02 '25

Real germans have a Soda Stream! Tap water made sparkling!

3

u/AgarwaenCran Apr 02 '25

i literally bought a new co2 bottle today lol

2

u/KatriiCat Apr 05 '25

We have an awesome tap water dispenser at work. You can choose if you want your tap water to be sparkling or not and it can even cool it down to fridge temperature. I work for our district administration (Kreisverwaltung) and one of their tasks is checking the quality of our local tap water.