Frankfurt am Main: water hardness, source, taste

Where the water comes from

Around 70 per cent of Frankfurt’s water comes from outside the city: from the Hessian Ried south of the city, where groundwater enriched with Rhine water is extracted, from the Vogelsberg in the north-east, and from the Spessart and the Kinzig valley. The rest is supplied by the city’s own waterworks in the city forest and in Praunheim. All the waters are blended and fed into the network, and depending on the district, one source predominates.

Hardness and taste

Vogelsberg water from basalt is soft, Ried water from sand and gravel is hard. The blend in the network is usually 12 to 18 °dH, around 15 on average (about 270 mg/l CaCO3). The water tastes neutral and balanced, and nitrate is 10 to 20 mg/l. Chlorine is used only as a precaution, in small amounts, and normally cannot be tasted.

What that means day to day

A solid city water with no peculiarities. Descale every four to eight weeks, depending on the district. The drinking fountains in the city centre, at the Hauptwache and on the banks of the Main are a boon in summer. If you need the exact hardness, you will find it at Mainova, by street.