Where does our water go? Information evening on the drinking water supply in Hemau!

Where does our water go? Information evening on the drinking water supply in Hemau!

On December 3, 2025, an information event on drinking water supply will take place at the Landgasthof Ferstl-Bruckmeier in Hemau. The event begins at 7 p.m. and is led by Stadtwerke works manager Thomas Mehring and geologist Iris Mulitze-Bauer. They will explain the procedure as well as the legal framework and next steps to secure the city's drinking water supply in the long term.

The city of Hemau's drinking water is currently obtained from a well in Beilnstein. However, the funding permit for this well expires in 2032, which is why the city is already looking for a new well location. Planned test drilling in a forest near Langenkreith could clarify whether a new well can be built there. The results of these investigations will be communicated during the information evening.

Urgency of water supply

Securing the drinking water supply is not only important for Hemau, but also affects larger contexts. According to current data, around 74.1 million people in Germany were supplied with drinking water in 2022, which corresponds to around 88.6 percent of the population. This occurs through 2,507 water supply areas that release more than 1,000 cubic meters of water per day or serve over 5,000 people.

The origin of drinking water in Germany is diverse. The majority, namely 67.6 percent, comes from groundwater. Another 15.9 percent comes from surface water, and 7.8 percent is obtained through bank filtrate. Only 8.7 percent of drinking water is artificially enriched. The quality of drinking water is described as good to very good, with more than 99 percent of the microbiological and chemical quality parameters meeting legal requirements. Nevertheless, in some measurements there were limits exceeded, such as for pesticides in 1 to 3 percent of the samples.

Health concerns and consumer information

Drinking water quality remains a crucial issue, particularly with regard to consumer health. For coliform bacteria, the limit value was exceeded in 31.1 percent of the samples in the waterworks and pipe network, but over 99.9 percent of the samples from the tap were harmless. There are also concerns about lead exceedances, primarily at the faucet, which may indicate the presence of lead pipes. Improper installations can also be responsible for exceedances of other heavy metals.

Consumers are cordially invited to find out about drinking water quality from their local health authority or water supply company. It is crucial that water suppliers provide regular information so that citizens are well informed about their drinking water supply.

The information event on December 3rd not only offers the opportunity to clarify current questions, but also a forum for discussing future measures to secure the drinking water supply in Hemau. For more details on drinking water well monitoring guidelines, those interested can refer to the information from Federal Environment Agency to use.

Overall, the issue of water supply is a central and complex issue that is influenced by a variety of factors and that has relevant implications beyond local boundaries. Information about drinking water quality is also available on the website Federal Environment Agency made available.