Water hardness and tap water in Bremen

Name: Water hardness and tap water in Bremen
Creator: Trinkwassermonitor
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Bremen, Bremen · Postcode 28195, 28203, 28205, 28209, 28215, 28259 …

This page is a translation of the German version; the German page is authoritative. German version · Report a translation error

Short answer: The tap water in Bremen has a total hardness of 6.3 °dH, hardness range “soft” (as of January 2026). All tested parameters with a legal limit (15) meet the limits set by the German Drinking Water Ordinance (TrinkwV). Source: test report by swb / wesernetz Bremen. WaterScore: 100 out of 100 (data coverage: 7 of 7 core parameters).

Limits of the Drinking Water OrdinancemetAll tested parameters (15), at the waterworks
Water hardness6.3 °dH, softNo legal limit, only a range
Data coverageCore parameters: 7 of 7Score based on complete data

Verified drinking-water values

Parameter	Value	Limit (TrinkwV)	Sampling date	Source	Status
Nitrate	3 mg/L	50 mg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Nitrite	0.038 mg/L	0.5 mg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
PFAS (sum)	< 0.002 µg/L	0.1 µg/L in force since 12 January 2026 from 12 January 2028: additionally PFAS-4 0.02 µg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Lead	0.0003 mg/L	0.01 mg/L from 12 January 2028: 0.005 mg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Arsenic	< 0.0003 mg/L	0.01 mg/L new plants from 2028, all from 2036: 0.004 mg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Uranium	0.0004 mg/L	0.01 mg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Mercury	< 0.0001 mg/L	0.001 mg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Copper	0.001 mg/L	2 mg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Cadmium	< 0.00003 mg/L	0.003 mg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Chromium	0.0002 mg/L	0.025 mg/L from 12 January 2030: 0.005 mg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Nickel	0.0011 mg/L	0.02 mg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Chloride	23 mg/L	250 mg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Sulphate	36 mg/L 14 % of the limit	250 mg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Sodium	14 mg/L	200 mg/L	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Calcium	39 mg/L	–	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Magnesium	4.1 mg/L	–	January 2026	swb AG	verified
pH	7.9	6.5–9.5	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Total hardness	6.3 °dH (soft)	no legal limit	January 2026	swb AG	verified
Electrical conductivity	304 µS/cm	–	January 2026	swb AG	verified

Note from the test report (in the German original): swb · Werte der Probenentnahmen Januar 2026 für Versorgungsbereich 2 (Bremen-Stadt). swb unterscheidet vier Versorgungsbereiche; die Gesamthärte reicht stadtweit von 6,3 °dH (Bremen-Stadt, weich) bis 13,5 °dH (Tenever, mittel). Im Versorgungsbereich Bremen-Nord liegt Uran mit 0,006 mg/l höher (60 % des Grenzwerts von 0,01 mg/l) als im übrigen Stadtgebiet (Bremen-Stadt 0,0004 mg/l). swb Wasser wird zu 100 % aus Grundwasser gewonnen und enteisent/entmangant.

Is a value wrong or out of date? Report an error – we check every report against the original source.

Water at your own tap: The values describe the water the supplier delivers – not automatically the water at your tap. The water supplier is responsible up to the service connection (Hausanschluss); the building owner is responsible for the pipes beyond it. Lead can dissolve from lead pipes, leaded solder joints or old brass fittings, especially when water has stood in the pipes for a long time (stagnant water); this mainly affects buildings constructed before about 1973. If water has stood in the pipes for several hours, let it run until it comes out cool. If you suspect lead pipes, a lead analysis of the stagnant water by an accredited laboratory will help.

Background on household plumbing, not a measurement: in Bremen, 66 % of buildings with living space were built before 1970, and a further 10 % between 1970 and 1979 (Zensus 2022, Statistisches Bundesamt, dl-de/by-2-0). (Zensus 2022) According to the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt), lead pipes exist at most in houses built before 1973 – and by no means in all of them. Whether there are any in your house is known to the owner or a plumber. (UBA)

What the values mean for Bremen

Nitrate 3 mg/L – about 6 % of the limit of 50 mg/L and in the unremarkable range. Boiling does not reduce nitrate.
PFAS (sum of PFAS-20) – not detectable in the sample evaluated. The limit of 0.1 µg/L (100 ng/L) has applied since 12 January 2026.
Lead 0.3 µg/L – about 3 % of the limit of 10 µg/L, measured at the waterworks. Today’s limit is met; it will drop to 5 µg/L on 12 January 2028. Lead from household plumbing (old lead pipes) comes on top of this and is not covered by this value.
Uranium 0.4 µg/L – unremarkable against a limit of 10 µg/L. In some regions uranium occurs naturally from the rock (geogenic).
pH 7.9 – within the range of the Drinking Water Ordinance (6.5 to 9.5). The pH determines how corrosive the water is in household plumbing.

Water hardness in Bremen in everyday life

At 6.3 °dH, Bremen is in the hardness range “soft” (soft: below 8.4 °dH, medium: 8.4–14 °dH, hard: above 14 °dH).

Dose detergent for the hardness range “soft” – the lowest amount on the pack.
Limescale deposits are rare; kettles and coffee machines only need descaling every few months.
At this hardness you do not need limescale protection or a water softener.

Baby food and low sodium: tap water in Bremen next to the bottled-water thresholds

Bottled water may only be labelled “suitable for preparing infant food” („geeignet für die Zubereitung von Säuglingsnahrung“) if it keeps to the maximum levels of the German Mineral and Table Water Ordinance (Mineral- und Tafelwasser-Verordnung, Annex 6). Here the published values for Bremen are shown next to them, each substance on its own. This is a comparison with labelling thresholds for bottled water, not a statement on whether your tap water is suitable for baby food. (Min/TafelWV, Anlage 6)

Values at the waterworks next to the maximum levels for bottled water “suitable for infant food”
Substance	Maximum level	Value in Bremen
Sodium	20 mg/l	14 mg/l – not above
Nitrate	10 mg/l	3 mg/l – not above
Nitrite	0.02 mg/l	0.038 mg/l – above
Sulphate	240 mg/l	36 mg/l – not above
Fluoride	0.7 mg/l	not in the report
Manganese	0.05 mg/l	not in the report
Arsenic	0.005 mg/l	below the detection limit (0.0003 mg/l) – not above
Uranium	0.002 mg/l	0.0004 mg/l – not above

Against the other thresholds of Annex 6, the water would qualify as: low in sodium (“suitable for a low-sodium diet”) (Sodium 14 mg/l, threshold below 20 mg/l).

For context: the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) considers preparing baby food with bottled water carrying this label necessary only in rare cases, for example when tap water is temporarily allowed to contain more than 50 mg/l nitrate. (UBA 2016, p. 59) Water from lead pipes in the house is always unsuitable for infants. (UBA 2020, p. 16) The values apply at the waterworks. Questions about baby food are answered by your midwife, your paediatrician and the health office (Gesundheitsamt).

Frequently asked questions about tap water in Bremen

Can you drink the tap water in Bremen?

According to the verified values, yes: All tested parameters with a legal limit (15) meet the limits set by the German Drinking Water Ordinance (TrinkwV). WaterScore: 100 out of 100 (data coverage: 7 of 7 core parameters). This applies to the water from the waterworks – restrictions can only arise from old household plumbing.

How hard is the water in Bremen?

The total hardness is 6.3 °dH – hardness range “soft”. Dose detergent for the hardness range “soft” – the lowest amount on the pack.

Is there PFAS in the tap water in Bremen?

Not in measurable amounts: according to the published analysis by swb / wesernetz Bremen (as of January 2026), PFAS were below the laboratory’s limit of quantification. Since 12 January 2026, a limit of 0.1 µg/l has applied to the sum of PFAS-20. This means the sum of the four substances PFOA, PFOS, PFNA and PFHxS (PFAS-4) is also below the limit of 0.02 µg/l, which applies from 12 January 2028.

Do I need to filter my tap water in Bremen?

Based on the verified supplier values, a filter is not necessary. It can make sense if you do not like the taste. If you suspect lead pipes in an old building, a filter does not help; a laboratory analysis at the tap does – that is a question of the household plumbing, not of the water leaving the works.

WaterScore

Total100 / 100
Chemical safety100 / 100
Heavy metals100 / 100
PFAS100 / 100
Nutrients100 / 100
General parameters100 / 100
Data timeliness100 / 100
Data quality100 / 100

Data coverage: 7 of 7 core parameters. Missing parameters are neither estimated nor counted as harmless: the score is based only on the values available. It is not a health assessment and says nothing about the water beyond the service connection. Methodology v3: how we calculate the WaterScore.

Evidence: cite and check

Trinkwasseranalyse Bremen – Werte der Probenentnahmen Januar 2026 (Versorgungsbereiche Bremen-Nord/Bremen-Stadt/Mahndorf/Tenever) (swb AG) · SHA-256 of the evaluated file: 134128394ac20199…, checked on 3 October 2026

Suggested citation: Trinkwassermonitor (2026): Tap water in Bremen. Values according to the water supplier’s test report, sampling date January 2026; at the waterworks, not household plumbing. https://trinkwassermonitor.ink/en/tap-water/bremen/

JSON: /api/v1/evidence?city=bremen

Data as of: January 2026 · verified: 19 of 19 evaluated parameters.

This page shows only verified test data with sources, or states explicitly where data is missing (no estimated values). Cite as: “Trinkwassermonitor (2026). Tap water in Bremen. Retrieved from https://trinkwassermonitor.ink/en/tap-water/bremen/.”