WATER TESTS IN DONAUkiez

The water quality of the drinking fountains in Berlin is tested regularly. This is especially visible when the fountains are turned on in spring. But what about the water tap at home or at work?
 
In September, we raffled off 30 water tests for all taps in the neighbourhood to find out. In the meantime, the results are in. The good news: Water of impeccable quality flows from almost all taps. But we found one tap with abnormal values. At first, this result dampened our mood. After a moment's thought and three deep breaths in and out, however, we realised: "At least the family now knows about it and can take action" And they will. In a telephone conversation we discussed the steps that should now be taken and what they need to consider.

​One of them involved doing another water test in the bathroom.
Since the family has a baby, they were also able to do this test free of charge.

Unfortunately, the water in the bathroom also had a noticeably high lead level. We advised the family not to drink or use their tap water for cooking for the time being. With immediate effect, they wanted to fill up a water canister at friends' houses. Buying bottled water was too expensive for them and harmful to the environment.

Of course, the neighbours also needed to know about this. The family rang all the doors over the next few days and informed their neighbours about their water test.
If there is an elevated lead level in the tap water, only one measure will help: Replace the leaded pipes and connectors. In an apartment building, the owner is obliged to do this. The family and their neighbour were lucky. Their property management immediately took care of the renovation and also found tradesmen. After almost two months, clean water finally bubbled out of the tap.
 
If you missed our water test raffle, you can of course still test your tap water. If a small child under 12 months or a pregnant woman lives in the household, Berliner Wasserbetriebe (Berlin Water Company or BWB) will test a tap for lead free of charge. For this purpose, a copy of the mother's passport or birth certificate should be enclosed with the order for the lead analysis. Click here for the application (in German). All others can, of course, also commission a lead analysis. There are many laboratories that offer this. Make sure it is an accredited laboratory. This means that the laboratory tests according to official standards.
If you want to order a water analysis, we advise you to test for the most common heavy metals. These are iron, copper, aluminium, lead, chromium, nickel and zinc.
 
Do you have any questions? Then get in touch with us at wasserkiez@atiptap.org.