Water hardness and tap water in Cottbus

Cottbus, Brandenburg · Postcode 03042, 03044, 03046, 03048, 03050

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

• Limits of the Drinking Water OrdinancemetAll tested parameters (8), at the waterworks
• Water hardness15 °dH, hardNo legal limit, only a range
• Data coverageCore parameters: 4 of 7Score based on complete data

Verified drinking-water values

Note from the test report (in the German original): LWG Lausitzer Wasser GmbH & Co. KG · Mittelwerte 2021–2025 (Stand 31.03.2026), Wasserwerk Fehrower Weg. Das zweite Cottbuser Wasserwerk Sachsendorf misst sehr ähnlich (16 °dH, hart, pH 7,54, Nitrat 1,5 mg/l). PFAS wird in den Zonen-PDFs nicht ausgewiesen; laut LWG-Pressemitteilung vom 09.10.2025 liegen die gemessenen, nicht nach PFAS-4/PFAS-20 spezifizierten PFAS-Werte an allen Wasserwerksausgängen unter 0,015 µg/l, deutlich unter dem seit 2026 geltenden Grenzwert von 0,1 µg/l.

Is a value wrong or out of date?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

Background on household plumbing, not a measurement: in Cottbus, 42 % 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 Cottbus

• Nitrate 2.5 mg/L – about 5 % of the limit of 50 mg/L and in the unremarkable range. Boiling does not reduce nitrate.
• Lead – not detectable at the waterworks. Lead gets into the water almost only through old lead pipes in household plumbing, not via the supplier.
• Uranium – not detectable at the waterworks (limit 10 µg/L).
• pH 7.62 – 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 Cottbus in everyday life

At 15 °dH, Cottbus is in the hardness range “hard” (soft: below 8.4 °dH, medium: 8.4–14 °dH, hard: above 14 °dH).

• Dose detergent for the hardness range “hard” – a larger amount is needed; a water softener for the washing machine can save detergent.
• Limescale builds up quickly: descale the kettle about every two to three weeks, and taps and shower heads too.
• In your own house, limescale protection or a water softener can be worthwhile at this hardness; in a rented flat, the owner decides.

Baby food and low sodium: tap water in Cottbus 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 Cottbus 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)

Against the other thresholds of Annex 6, the water would qualify as: low in sodium (“suitable for a low-sodium diet”) (Sodium 17 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 Cottbus

WaterScore

• Total99.7 / 100
• Chemical safety100 / 100
• Heavy metals100 / 100
• Nutrients100 / 100
• General parameters97.7 / 100
• Data timeliness100 / 100
• Data quality100 / 100

Data coverage: 4 of 7 core parameters. Not in the test report: Nitrite, Arsenic and PFAS (sum). 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 Cottbus, Wasserwerk Fehrower Weg, Mittelwerte 2021–2025 (Stand 31.03.2026) (LWG Lausitzer Wasser GmbH & Co. KG) · SHA-256 of the evaluated file: 9f698ba8fadef1c1…, checked on 3 October 2026

Suggested citation: Trinkwassermonitor (2026): Tap water in Cottbus. Values according to the water supplier’s test report, sampling date 31 March 2026; at the waterworks, not household plumbing. https://trinkwassermonitor.ink/en/tap-water/cottbus/

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

Data as of: 31 March 2026 · verified: 12 of 12 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 Cottbus. Retrieved from https://trinkwassermonitor.ink/en/tap-water/cottbus/.”

Further information

• German version: Trinkwasser in Cottbus
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