Our tap water
Drinking water in Germany is best-monitored water, is it really so? Let’s give it a check and see what flows through Germany’s faucets.
Condition of Drinking Water in Germany
Now, when it comes to the treatment of drinking water, it depends upon a lot many aspects, including technical support, health issues, political interference, and cost aspect. Also, the old and outdated buildings are supported by an aged pipeline network that requires renovation. These pipelines may provide a breeding ground for germs and bacteria to pose a number of health issues.
Constituents
Here is a list of ingredients that you can be found in water:
Definition of healthy water
Public
water suppliers are responsible to supply clean and healthy drinking water to
all its consumers. With healthy water, we mean quality drinking water that will
do no harm to the population. However, constantly increasing environmental
pollution is degrading the quality of water beyond its recovery limit. In
addition, the presence of toxins and pollutants can harm humans to a great
extent leading to severe disease. All this is the result of a lack of properly
analyzed limit values and dawdling legislation failing to provide the necessary
support. Legislation monitors the contamination of drinking water for germs,
pesticides, and heavy metals while ignoring pollutants like drug residues,
hormone-like substances, and parasites.
Waterworks
rely upon upgraded treatment processes, but due to inappropriate equipment,
pollutants remain there in the water. The lack of access to modern-day
technology leads to contaminated water supply to the consumers. Studies
indicate that more than half of small drinking water supplies in Germany don’t even
follow limit values for faecal germs.
Loose and ineffective Environmental Laws
Tap
water is used more often than not, and hence it should be free from impurities
& germ and should not pose any health risk to its consumers. To control all
this, the German Drinking Water Ordinance has pre-defined limit values for
certain pollutants, following which would minimize the risk.
Upon
the addition of new pollutants or new evidence of side effects, these limit
values should be updated. The Federal Environment Agency claims that supplied
water meets all the guidelines and the limit values as issued by the Drinking
Water Ordinance. The Drinking Water Ordinance has mentioned limit values for 50
different substances. However, some ingredients are not listed under this
Ordinance, including microplastics and pesticides, drug residues, etc.
Irrelevant And Untimely Analysis
Approaching
outdated methods of monitoring pollutants would lead to inaccurate analyses,
thus worsening the conditions. As per the Drinking Water Ordinance, pollutants
in drinking water are detected using a 100 years old smear method, the
relevance of which can’t be guaranteed. Also, 0.1 – 1% of bacteria tend to form
colonies to count using smear.
However,
modern-day methods like flow cytometry have shown that the concentration of
germs can be higher than expected in tap water. These high-resolution
analytical methods are highly practical and dependable. Studies performed in
Munich show that drinking water supply flushes 8,000 and 100,000 germs per ml.
This water contains a mixture of harmful bacteria, pathogens, organisms,
pseudomonas, along with nutrients and other dissolved organic components such
as nitrates, phosphates. These pollutants take over the pipe network and become
a breeding home of germs and pathogens to lead for an unbridled upsurge.
Multiplication of germs in the building
Even
though the water suppliers process the supply within the limit value, it should
be understood that the water pipe network of buildings provides an optimal
environment for germs to let them procreate. Old buildings or damaged pipelines
are most susceptible to germs, and thus can contaminate the water. The aged the
pipe network, the more risk of damage and contamination; this poses the need
for instant renovation and pipeline fixtures. Stagnant pipelines, broken seals,
galvanized lead pipes, and aged copper pipes are at high risk to become a
breeding ground for these germs, and can contaminate the water to threaten
humans. It could be due to favorable growth conditions and increased release of
pollutants.
These
pollutants are silent guests, which can directly affect your life by posing
health risks and can be responsible for a number of diseases. Rather than
depending upon others, one should look for preventive measures on one’s own.
For this, one needs to ensure access to clean drinking water at the point of
withdrawal only.
Updated drinking water rules by European Parliament
European
Parliament passed a decision in October 2018, which aimed at supporting
consumers’ confidence in tap water by implementing necessary measures. It
included monitoring of microplastic and improved limit values of pollutants
such as bacteria, hormones (endocrine disruptors), lead, etc. However, this
revision excluded certain high-risk pollutants; moreover, the implementation of
new limit values is quite tough to monitor.
Updated
measures help in recognizing rust, dirt particles, and turbidity along with the
taste and odor of chlorine. It shows that our tap water used in bath and
kitchen has a high lime portion and the smell and taste of chlorine,
particularly in old buildings.
The water cycle: How water gets polluted?
Water
is an indispensable part of life; the supply chain of water flows in a natural
way, be it rainwater or groundwater. Water contains all from pollutants to
nutrients and minerals that dissolve in water and soil. Groundwater contains
residues of pesticides, fertilizers, and minerals dissolved in the soil, and
rainwater contains residues of animal excreta and industrial fumes, all this
worsens the quality of water. When it comes to drinking water, a range of
impurities remain uninspected by waterworks. Old pipelines and pipe network
degrades the water quality further.
Nutrients Present In Drinking Water
Water
serves as an essential component of the body. Our body needs nutrients for
effective functioning of cells, tissues, organs, and nearly all main body
functions. It also supports the nervous system and helps in strengthening bones
and joints. Here, nutrients can be divided into trace elements and
macrominerals. Our body requires Macrominerals such as sodium in larger
quantity and trace elements like copper in smaller quantity. In general,
drinking water doesn’t contain a sufficient amount of nutrients that are needed
by our body, and hence these are supplied to the body through food.
Noteworthy point: Too much
intake of nutrients like copper may damage the organs and especially of
children and infants. Thus, the limit value for each nutrient should follow The
Drinking Water Ordinance.
Impurities in Water
In
this era where potable water is hardly available, even public water suppliers
can’t guarantee you drinkable water as impurities lurk from behind. Infinite
number of impurities are always present in the water, all of which can’t be
treated or removed. We consume a considerable amount of water throughout our
life, while the presence of impurities even in the smallest amount can damage
our body significantly. Ingesting these impurities over a long period of time
can cause great harm to the human body. All this puts a question mark on the
quality of water that is being supplied by waterworks and their reliability
also.
Drinking water in Germany
Drinking
water is the best sourced out water that is suitable for drinking and will not
cause any harm. However, the presence of impurities makes the water harmful and
lowers down its quality to be regarded as “fit for drinking”. Water Impurities
whether dissolved solids or suspended solids can bring about a negative impact
on living organisms, animals, plants, and humans.
Considering
the legal framework and guidelines of the Drinking Water Ordinance, impurities
in domestic taps can range from chemical to radiological and microbiological
components. Thus, our drinking water not only contains health-promoting
nutrients but disease-causing pollutants. This includes microplastics,
pesticides, and other plant protection products, pharmaceutical residues, heavy
metals, and other microorganisms. For a safer side, these substances should not
even enter the human body.
Taking
the relevance of The Drinking Water Ordinance into account, it can be said that
it enlisted limit values for 50 pollutants whose temporary and lasting effects
are researched and known. However, its irrelevance can be counted with
pollutants like microplastics drug residues that are not even mentioned in it.
Also, none can deny that these pollutants are human and should be filtered
using a separate activated carbon filter.