Drinking water quality – these laws protect our water

The better the drinking water, the healthier people, animals and plants live. In Austria, high-quality water usually reaches us through the pipes. This is ensured primarily by the Drinking Water Ordinance, which deals with the requirements of water quality. However, it does not deal with mineral water. There is a separate law for this (Mineral Water and Spring Water Ordinance) because different requirements apply.

Because water is placed on the market as food, it must also comply with the provisions of the Food Safety and Consumer Protection Act. However, there is no separate section on the subject of water here. All applicable hygiene regulations also have to be observed for drinking water. Another important source is the Austrian food book. This is not a legal provision, but an “objectified expert report”. There are quality criteria here, some of which go beyond the drinking water laws. This includes, for example, the methods with which water can be disinfected or how it can be preserved in emergencies.

In the jumble of paragraphs, ordinances and guidelines, it is not easy to see what is really important. We have dealt intensively with the legal texts and summarized the essentials.

 

Requirements for our drinking water

Drinking water must not endanger human health. This means that all foreign substances may only occur in a certain number that is not harmful to health. Even if you drink the water all your life. According to the Drinking Water Ordinance, there are limit values for chemical substances  and for microorganisms.

Further quality criteria are listed in the food book. Water that is naturally of high quality is primarily intended to ensure the supply of drinking water. But this is not always available. If other waters are used, the best possible quality should be ensured during extraction. If the water does not meet the high requirements, it can be treated. The treatment either ensures the drinking water quality or improves technical characteristics. If, for example, the pH value is incorrect, the water could damage pipes – these properties must then be changed. However, the water is disinfected more often. The procedures that can be used are clearly defined. In addition to various treatments with chlorine, UV radiation and disinfection with ozone may also be used.

 

Regular controls ensure drinking water quality

To ensure that the drinking water quality is right, it is constantly checked. The supply systems  are obliged to carry out so-called self-control. Small systems only have to have the water checked once a year, large suppliers up to 48 times a year. The samples must be taken at “suitable locations”. Usually these are the places where the water leaves the system. If, for example, the effectiveness of a disinfection measure is to be tested, the review may also take place at another point.

In addition to the normal limit values, there is also the so-called indicator parameter value. This is set higher than the associated limit value. If it is exceeded, the cause must be investigated.

The chemical substances and microorganisms that are examined can be found here here and here listed again. If the water exceeds these limit values, the supplier must take measures. The operator of the water supply system must be able to provide perfect quality again within 30 days. However, such a case must by no means go quietly over the stage. The operator must inform the water consumer how high the measured value is and where the normal value is. In addition, precautionary measures must be stated. Of course, it is important that the information reaches all consumers, for example through a suitable notice.

 

Exceptions by the governor – short-term loopholes

In extreme situations, the water may exceed a limit value for a longer period of time. That affects chemical pollution. If an increased value is measured and the drinking water supply cannot be established in any other way, a suspension can be requested. For this purpose, the operator of the water supply system submits an application to the governor.

The governor can then issue a notice that allows the limit values to be exceeded. This can happen for a maximum of three years. A time limit is specified in the notification and also by how much the water may exceed the limit value. At the same time, a monitoring program starts – for example with more frequent examinations of the water.

There is no need for a notice of exception for pollution to a minor extent that water suppliers can eliminate within 30 days.

 

So you know how things are going with your water

The obligations of operators of water supply systems also include informing customers. Once a year they have to report on the current quality. This is usually done through the water bill or the community newspaper. The following measured values must be given in the quality reports:

  • nitrate
  • Pesticides
  • Hydrogen ion concentration (pH value)
  • Total hardness
  • Carbonate hardness
  • potassium
  • Calcium
  • magnesium
  • sodium
  • chloride
  • sulfate

Many operators also make this measurement data available on their homepage. Can’t find the last water bill or information on the Internet? You can also find out about the water quality with a short phone call to your supplier.

In some cases it is possible that the water quality fluctuates significantly. This is the case every now and then, especially in summer. When it is particularly dry, water from different sources is sometimes mixed to provide drinking water. In this case, the fluctuation range must also be specified.

The Food Safety and Consumer Protection Act also stipulates that the drinking water report must be published once a year. This report provides information on the water quality of all large water supply systems. This includes those who provide over 1000 cubic meters of water a day or at least 5000 people.

 

Better safe than sorry – when you need your own water test

These strict requirements and regular controls only apply to water supply systems. A tenth of Austrians, however, provide themselves with water – from a house well. However, they often neglect controls. The government recommends that house wells be extensively examined at least once a year. Just with a water test  the need for action can be identified.

Another problem with drinking water quality is often the pipes in the house. Especially when they are very old, they can emit dangerous substances – in some old buildings, for example, there are still lead pipes. If you suspect that something may be wrong with your pipes, you can also investigate this with a water test.

Drinking while exercising: sweat properly, drink properly

During muscle work, chemical energy is converted into mechanical energy and heat. The efficiency is only 25%, which means the remaining energy is “lost” as heat:  We’re getting hot. During intense physical activity, the body is forced to release the generated heat to the outside through sweat in order to avoid overheating of the organism, which is harmful to health. Otherwise the core body temperature would be increased too much.

So whoever does sport sweats. Sweating does not have to be a sign of a bad training condition, on the contrary –  those who are well trained can sweat well. Sweating is necessary for the organism’s heat regulation so that the core body temperature does not rise to a dangerous level, which could lead to heat stroke. The importance of the most effective heat dissipation possible through adequate sweating during prolonged physical exertion is illustrated by the example of running a marathon. Top athletes complete it with a body temperature of up to 40 degrees Celsius!

How much we sweat depends on a number of factors. With intensive work, high ambient temperature and humidity, the loss of sweat increases. Anyone who sweats a lot and constantly loses a not inconsiderable amount Body water .  This is at the expense of the fluid in the body cells, the intercellular space and ultimately also the blood plasma, i.e. the part of the blood that consists of water. The result is a decrease in blood flow, which means that the body is poorly supplied with oxygen and “waste products” can be removed less easily.

 

Health risks when sweating

For athletes who train in warm climates, greater fluid loss can cause significant health problems, primarily from overheating the body to heat breakdown and heat stroke. Sweat rates that  2 liters per hour  exceed are not uncommon. The consequences are only fatal in a few cases, only a water loss of 10% of the body weight leads to serious symptoms, a dehydration of 15% is usually fatal. But even relatively small sweat losses reduce performance.

Scientific research has shown that a  Water loss of already 2% of the body weight significantly affects performance. For most people, this corresponds to less than two liters of sweat loss. Especially in sports where fractions of a second decide between victory and defeat, such a disadvantageous effect not only affects the end result, but also the subjective degree of fatigue felt.

 

Drinking properly is crucial

The hydration  plays a big role in sport. If you sweat a lot, you not only lose water, but also sodium. The loss of minerals must also be compensated for. A water with a high sodium content is ideal for this. If you choose mineral water, it should be carbonated-free or low-carbon. This irritates the stomach less and prevents hiccups.

Various sports drinks are available at the market. Electrolyte and isotonic drinks must have a certain composition. The contained minerals can be quickly absorbed by the body and quickly replace water and energy losses. Such drinks are aimed primarily at high-performance athletes. In popular sports, the same results can usually be achieved with diluted fruit juices. In any case, you should keep your hands off soft drinks and beverages containing caffeine – these can downright dehydrate the body.

What does the degree of water hardness say?

That water is “hard”  can be is a known fact. Calcium and magnesium come naturally into our drinking water and form the often unpopular lime there. But not all water is equally calcareous. The degree of hardness varies from region to region, sometimes even from house to house – for example, if you have a house well and your neighbor gets his drinking water from the community. Anyone who knows his degree of hardness benefits. This is the only way to identify the need for action and save costs on detergents and household appliances.

 

Testing water hardness – How to determine your water hardness

Various online tests offer an initial guide to the hardness of the water in your region. However, the data are partly based on projections. If you’d like to check the numbers for yourself, just call your water company or do a quick test using test strips. Only a comprehensive water test provides exact results. This is also especially recommended if you have a domestic well. This not only provides you with information on the water hardness level, but also on many other quality criteria.

 

What does “German hardship” mean?

The hardness of the water  is usually given in ° dH. That stands for “degree of German hardship”. To this day, the German hardness is the common unit for measuring the degree of water hardness in Central Europe. One degree of German hardness corresponds to 10 milligrams of lime per liter of water. For example, if your evaluation is 10 ° dH, there are 0.1 grams of lime dissolved in one liter. That’s roughly the weight of four to five grains of rice. Internationally, the degree of hardness is usually measured in millimoles per liter or in parts per million.

 

Hard or soft? Subdivision of the water hardness levels

When water is considered to be soft and when to be hard is even anchored in a law in Austria, the detergent law of 1984.  In Germany, the detergent and cleaning agent law also stipulates the degree of hardness.

Establishing a chemical scale in the detergent law might seem a bit banal at first glance. The degree of water hardness has a very direct effect on washing. Because hard water requires more detergents than soft water. Perhaps you have already noticed a difference in hand washing in another region. You have to rinse off the same amount of soap with soft water for a longer time until your hands no longer feel “slippery”.

In some scales, the area above 21 degrees German hardness is also referred to as very hard. Few municipalities in Austria have such hard water. In Tulln or Wiener Neustadt, for example, the hardness of up to 25 degrees German hardness is specified by the water supplier. At the other end of the spectrum, by the way, there is rainwater that has a hardness of almost zero in Germany.

Your plants like this particularly soft water, but you should not pump it into your water pipes. Soft water has a low pH value and is therefore acidic. This can attack pipes and in the worst case even trigger heavy metals that get into your tap water. That is why in the grocery book  the Ministry of Health required a minimum hardness of 8.4 degrees of German hardness. Softer water is deacidified before it is distributed via the pipe network so that it cannot cause any damage to domestic installations.

 

Which degree of water hardness is good?

Both hard and soft water have their advantages and disadvantages. Which degree of water hardness is good for you depends on various factors. Soft water is gentler on the skin and on household appliances, but if it is too soft it can damage pipes and pipes. You should therefore never set water softeners below the required minimum hardness of 8.4 ° dH. If your water hardness is at or above this value, you will likely be happy with your water.

Hard tap water tastes better than soft. The minerals it contains give the water its good taste. Apart from that, hard water has numerous disadvantages. Frequent cleaning and descaling are the order of the day when the water hardness is high, devices also break faster and cost a lot of money for repairs and maintenance. You will also need more detergent when doing laundry and cleaning. Hard water can quickly become a problem for sensitive skin or unruly hair. Many people are bothered by the “lime taste” in coffee or tea; the aromas can develop better with soft water.

 

Action required from 18 ° dH

Water that is too soft is treated, but not too hard. It is pumped into the pipes and distributed to households as normal. Hard water in itself is not bad, on the contrary: it contains the two important minerals calcium and magnesium in increased doses. However, a balanced diet cannot replace hard water – you can’t drink that much water. The human body does need these minerals for, though  coffee machine  & Co they become torture. The consequences: stubborn limescale deposits and constant cleaning. If you live in a region with hard water, you surely know these problems.

There is a need for action from 18 degrees of German hardship. The Austrian Standards Institute recommends softening devices above this value  to be used (see ÖNORM m6245). This applies to around 20 percent of Austrian households. There are different ways of softening. Depending on what you want to achieve with the softening, a water softener  make sense even with less hard water.

How water hardness arises and affects it

Many feel that the water is hard  as annoying. Limescale causes a number of problems in the household, such as constant cleaning, descaling or even broken appliances. But why is our drinking water hard? To understand this, let’s take a detour into nature.

 

Hard water – the answer lies in the water cycle

In nature, water is an excellent solvent and means of transport. That is also the reason why lime is even in our drinking water  comes. When it rains and water seeps into the ground, it comes into contact with calcareous rock and is enriched with it – the groundwater becomes hard. How calcareous the drinking water is varies from region to region. On the one hand, this is of course related to the composition of the soil; on the other hand, the same amount of groundwater is not used everywhere for drinking water supply.

If you want to remove the lime from the water, you usually use a water softener in your household.  In nature, the water cycle does this by itself. When water evaporates, the limescale remains – you are probably familiar with this from limescale stains on kitchen fittings and shower walls. The water rises in clouds in a natural cycle, the lime remains on the earth. Evaporation in nature purifies water in the best possible way.

 

Calcium, magnesium and the chemistry behind them

The lime in water is composed of various minerals, calcium and magnesium are the two most important of them. They are also called hardeners. The exact chemical name for the hardness in water is calcium hydrogen carbonate. And that happens when carbon dioxide reacts with lime in the water. To put it simply: the natural carbonic acid in the water dissolves the lime from the limestone. And that stays in the drinking water in the form of calcium hydrogen carbonate.

Each of us consumed  around 135 liters of water every day, of which we only drink one to two liters on average. Calcium and magnesium dissolved in drinking water are healthy for humans. Almost 99% of the water we use does not flow through our bodies, but through our household appliances. And for kettles, coffee machines  or boiler, lime is anything but healthy. When the water is hard, heating rods and heating coils become calcified. Lines and pipes clog and only let water through slowly. Energy consumption also increases. A layer of limescale just one millimeter thick – for example on the bottom of your kettle – requires ten percent more energy. More soap or detergent is used when washing. Lime binds cleaning agents and thus increases your household expenses.

 

Why does the lime deposit?

Problems with limescale usually arise where water is heated. Because from 60 ° C the lime precipitates and is deposited on boilers or pipes. Responsible for this is the so-called carbonate hardness – calcium and magnesium dissolved in the water. The counterpart to this is the non-carbonate hardness. This consists of the other minerals dissolved in the water and does not change when heated. Both together result in the total hardness, which you can determine yourself with the help of simple means.

If you know your total hardness, you don’t know the carbonate hardness. With a water hardness of 20 ° dH and an annual consumption of 150 cubic meters of water, more than 50 kilograms of lime are pumped through the household every year. How much of it is carbonate hardness and is deposited cannot be said in general terms. A few kilos of lime are left behind in pipes and devices due to heating. The same degree of hardness therefore does not necessarily result in the same limescale deposits. Effects on the skin  or the detergent consumption remains the same with the same hardness.

 

Why do we say water hardness

By the way, it is not exactly clear why the term “hardness” is used for this. From some quarters one hears the theory that the term comes from the field of laundry. Hard water makes the laundry hard after drying. The expression could also have originated from cooking. Deposits that arise when heated are simply “hard”. Either way: The terms “hard” and “soft” have become common over the centuries.

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Water: for the sake of our body and wellbeing

After a holiday in a foreign country, have you ever been really happy to be able to drink the tap water without worrying again? In international comparison, the water quality is  top in Central Europe. Our body is dependent on a sufficient supply of water every day, and body care is not possible without the cool water. How our drinking water  health effects, read here.

 

Without water there’s no life

You have probably heard at one time or another that water is the main component in all living things. In small children, the water content is over 70%, with increasing age we literally dry out until we are only about 45% water in old age.

Water is indispensable for many vital processes in the human body. Those who drink too little can find it difficult to concentrate, suffer from headaches or dizziness. In the long run, it can even lead to serious illness. So drinking enough is important to stay healthy.

 

Exercising, sweating, drinking – what you should pay attention to

Anyone who does sport sweats. This prevents the body from dangerous overheating. The main problem is the loss of fluids, but also the excretion of vital minerals. Drinking properly while exercising is therefore essential to keep fit. And in many sports it can even make the difference between victory and defeat, because with a loss of fluids, the ability to concentrate also decreases.

 

Water for the Youngest: Tips on Baby Food

Is the tap water right for my baby? A question that many parents ask themselves. The answer is basically yes, a water test is a precaution  but not bad. As a precaution, many parents boil off the tap water to determine whether this is really necessary, but opinions differ about this. The lime in the water can be problematic for some children. However, this cannot be completely removed by boiling.

Water as a drink is not necessary during breastfeeding or the first time in a bottle. But if you start offering the baby water as a drink, you should pay close attention to some of the ingredients.

 

This is what calcareous water does to our skin

Limescale in the water is one of the most common problems that occur with our tap water. While the problems in kettles etc. are very visible, we are often less aware of what the limescale does to our skin. Limescale reduces the washing performance of soap and shower gel, residues of minerals are deposited on the skin. Not all people notice the difference between soft and hard water. In the case of sensitive skin, however, the lime can cause a wide variety of irritations. If you’ve already started to feel improvements after a vacation in a place with soft water, you might want to have your water checked.

 

How hard and soft water affect hair care

Frizzy mane or straight and without volume? We often struggle with our hair in daily care. We mostly forget one essential factor – the water used. If it is very calcareous, minerals can get stuck in the hair, if it is very soft, there may be product residues. The composition of the water affects several levels – the appearance of the hair, how easy it is to style and which care products are required. On the blog we give tips on how to get the best possible grip on your hair.

Descaling the kettle: 5 tried and tested home remedies

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White flakes on tea: Anyone who knows this has already experienced lime in its most stubborn form. When heated, the lime dissolves from the water, it is either deposited on the walls of the vessel or forms flakes. Thus, kettles are very susceptible to deposits. Another problem is that the lime increases energy consumption. A layer of lime just one millimeter on the bottom of the kettle increases power consumption by a proud ten percent.

Chemical descaler are usually expensive. A pack of descaling tablets often costs about half as much as a new kettle. However, these chemical descaling agents are not absolutely necessary. Since lime is basic, it basically just needs an acid to say goodbye to it. We have the most popular home remedies  on the subject of descaling the kettle and explain what to look out for when using it.

Which home remedy works best, you will probably have to find out for yourself. Water is very different from region to region, and the material of the kettle also plays a role. Less aggressive home remedies are suitable for light soiling. However, our instructions are not set in stone. For more stubborn stains, you can leave vinegar or baking powder mixtures to act overnight. Cleaning will be easier if you do it regularly. It is also possible that the deposits come off, but remain in the kettle when the cleaning solution is poured away. Then simply wipe away the lime with a cloth or scrub with a kitchen sponge.

 

Lifestyle for drinking

It has long been a core business for the large beverage multinationals. Bottled water has become the best-selling drink in the world – that’s a disaster from an ecological point of view. The sales of bottled water have been growing annually by six percent worldwide since 2008, writes the Financial Times. The big corporations Danone, Nestle, Coca-Cola and Pepsi are fighting for shares in the market. Your most lucrative business is no longer soft drinks, but plain and simple ordinary water.

Consumption doubled

Especially in Asia, China and India – where the governments do not always manage to permanently supply the fast growing cities with clean drinking water – the market is growing enormously. China’s consumption of bottled water has doubled in five years, from 17 billion to 33 billion liters per year.

But even in the western world, water is increasingly being bought in the supermarket. “The growth rates here are similar to those in the emerging countries,” said Marco Settembri, managing director of “Nestle Wasser” recently to the “Financial Times”. In particular, concerns about health and obesity are increasing the demand for bottled water. The Austrian Association of the Food and Beverage Industry announced that the average Austrian carried around 90 liters of bottled water home in 2014 – in 1970 there were six. The domestic beverage companies filled around 750 million liters of water in bottles last year.

 

Amazing marketing ploy

In Europe and the USA, water has become a popular lifestyle product in recent years. The advertising industry has achieved amazing things. She markets a product that everyone already has at home and makes incredible profits with it. Pure springs, snow-capped mountain peaks or crystal clear lakes beckon on the labels of the bottles. They should suggest purity, vitality and a healthy lifestyle. Successful businesswomen sip bottled water in the television commercial. Instead of the tap, people are increasingly reaching for the bottle.
The quality of standard mineral or table water in many countries is by no means better than that of tap water. On the contrary – tap water is subject to a large number of tests; it is the most thoroughly checked food  of the world. Many mineral water from the supermarket contain fewer minerals and also have a problem with germs, as the Stiftung Warentest announced in a study.

And in terms of price, bottled water cannot compete with tap water either. In Austria, for example, a liter of mineral water costs an average of 50 cents, for which, according to the water report of the Chamber of Labor (AK), you could get around 400 liters of tap water – without having to lug it home by crates. Apart from quality and price, the ecological component plays a role that should not be underestimated. Only 20 percent of the plastic bottles used are recycled. The rest of it accumulates in vast mountains of rubbish, huge plastic islands in our oceans are life-threatening for numerous animals.