Bremen gets its drinking water mainly from groundwater works in the surrounding area of Lower Saxony, including Verden and Blumenthal, supplemented by Harz water. The water is medium-hard and unobtrusively good.
Water hardness
12.5 °dHmediumThe normal case in many cities: moderate limescale, good taste, normal detergent dosage. Descale: every 6 to 8 weeks.
Aquaviana’s advice
- Hardness is 11 to 14 °dH, medium-hard; descale every six to eight weeks.
- Nitrate is low, and after boiling the water is well suited to children and baby food.
- In recent years, Bremen has installed new drinking fountains in the city centre.
Where the water comes from
Bremen sits in the marshland and has hardly any usable groundwater of its own. So around 90 per cent comes from waterworks in Lower Saxony: groundwater from the Verden an der Aller area, from Blumenthal and Vegesack in the north, and a share of soft reservoir water from the Harzwasserwerke. The water is aerated and filtered, not chlorinated.
Hardness and taste
The blend is at 11 to 14 °dH (about 200 to 250 mg/l CaCO3), medium-hard, with a mild, neutral taste. Calcium is around 60 to 80 mg/l, sodium is slightly raised because of the proximity to the coast, and nitrate is under 10 mg/l.
What that means day to day
Uncomplicated: moderate limescale, no chlorine, good for tea and coffee. wesernetz publishes the analysis values by supply zone. As in all Hanseatic cities, some lead pipes still exist in older buildings; a test gives clarity.
Try it out
Hardness converterConvert °dH, °fH, °e, mmol/l and ppm into one another and read off the hardness range and descaling interval.Tap water checkEight questions about your home, pipes and region, an assessment with a traffic light and next steps.Share
