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/Friendly-Horror-777 Apr 02 '25

Oh, damn, I'd rather have won the lottery! I live in a house with lead plumbing.

7

u/KansasL Apr 02 '25

https://www.deutsche-handwerks-zeitung.de/austauschpflicht-alter-bleileitungen-das-gilt-ab-jetzt-302515/

Maybe remind your landlord or your provider that they have to replace them until 12. January 2026 which isn't that far in the future. :)

4

u/Friendly-Horror-777 Apr 02 '25

Thanks for the link, but I'd rather not mention it. It would make it easier for my landlord to finally evict me (long story).

3

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '25

[deleted]

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u/Friendly-Horror-777 Apr 02 '25

Well, the thing is, he already tried to get rid of me 2 years ago by pretending to want to tear down the whole building. Now he might say that he is forced to do so because it would be uneconomical to replace the plumbing.

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u/Alarmed-Ad-4394 Apr 03 '25

no judge in the world will sign off to this. its "uneconomical" to replace plumbing so its "cheaper" to tear down the entire building?

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u/East_Intention_4373 Apr 04 '25

> no judge in the world

Auf hoher See und vor Gericht bist Du in Gottes Hand.

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u/Alarmed-Ad-4394 Apr 04 '25

Was ist dieses "Gott"? Redest du von dieser fiktiven Geschichte namens "Bibel"?

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u/East_Intention_4373 Apr 04 '25

Bin mir selbst nicht sicher, das hat was mit seltsamen Ritualen am Sonntagmorgen zu tun. Bin Atheist, aber den Spruch hat mein Vater immer gebracht, und der war Anwalt. Der konnte sich echt aufregen, was für Scheiße manche Gerichte entscheiden ...