What makes water hard? How is water quality controlled in Germany? With these and other questions about drinking water as a foodstuff, Forum Trinkwasser e.V. launched a representative survey on Germans’ knowledge of their number one foodstuff. Most people in Germany can only answer one out of three questions correctly – this is the result of the representative survey by TNS Emnid, Institute for Market and Opinion Research. Although many have a fairly good partial knowledge, overall there is a large information deficit.
Only a few know: Hard water contains a lot of calcium and magnesium
The fact that the two minerals magnesium and calcium are responsible for water hardness is known to only a few. Almost every third person believes that iron is the cause of water hardness. Just under one in four is completely wrong with the answer “lead“. Incidentally, a high lime content is not the criterion for increasing water hardness, but it goes hand in hand with it: because lime consists of a chemical compound of the “hardness former” calcium with carbon and oxygen. The lack of knowledge is probably the reason why 40 percent of those surveyed attribute a negative effect on health to hard water and most attribute a positive effect to soft water. The survey results are also confirmed by numerous inquiries to Forum Trinkwasser e.V. as to whether drinking hard tap water is harmful to health and leads to calcification of the veins. The answer is no, because calcium as a component of lime is a vital mineral for humans, serving, for example, to build bones and teeth and is essential for energy metabolism. However, studies show that with the usual consumption habits in Germany, both drinking and mineral waters contribute only to a small extent to covering the mineral requirement. Foods such as milk and dairy products, whole-grain bread, bananas or vegetables are the more important sources here.
Hard or soft water – a question of taste
Whether the hardness of tap water has an influence on the taste of hot and cold drinks is a matter of disagreement among respondents. Nearly one in two say they believe hard water has a negative impact on the taste of coffee or tea. In the case of cold beverages, only one in three says the same. Meanwhile, 33 percent of those surveyed believe that the degree of hardness has no influence on the taste. In fact, coffee or tea develop their full flavor better when they are prepared with soft water. The opposite is true for cold drinks: here, in professional tastings in blind tests, waters with a higher mineral content often come off better than “soft” ones.
Drinking water: origin and quality control
Most of the population answers the question about the origin of drinking water correctly. It comes from a variety of resources – 64 percent from groundwater, 27 percent from surface water and nine percent from spring water. All three types of origin are named with roughly equal frequency. Throughout Germany, the quality of drinking water is subject to the strict regulations of the Drinking Water Ordinance, compliance with which is the sole responsibility of the water supply companies and the health authorities. 89 percent know that drinking water quality control is the responsibility of the water supply companies, and 70 percent cite the public health authorities as quality guardians. However, 40 percent of respondents are convinced that consumer agencies are responsible for monitoring drinking water quality. Overall, only 43 percent answered this question correctly.
Hardly anyone knows it: a liter of drinking water costs 0.2 cents
When it comes to the price, many are at a loss. Most answer the question “What does a liter of drinking water cost on average?” with “I don’t know.” For just under half of the population, it ranges from 0.7 to 50 cents. Not even 25 percent of respondents gave the correct price, at around 0.2 cents per liter. Incidentally, men have a better sense of price here: one in three men, but only just under one in six women, is correct on this question.
No knowledge champions
While most people in Germany are quite knowledgeable about the origin and quality control of drinking water, there are considerable gaps in information when it comes to the effects of water hardness on health or taste, for example.Only seven percent of all Germans can call themselves real knowledge champions, and one in four even has to pass on all questions.
