Water hardness and tap water in Heinsberg

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

Kreis Heinsberg, Nordrhein-Westfalen · Postcode 52525

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 Heinsberg has a total hardness of 8.4 °dH, hardness range “medium” (as of 8 May 2026). All tested parameters with a legal limit (13) meet the limits set by the German Drinking Water Ordinance (TrinkwV). Source: test report by Stadtwerke Heinsberg. WaterScore (provisional): 100 out of 100 – the test report contains only 3 of 7 core parameters.

Limits of the Drinking Water OrdinancemetAll tested parameters (13), at the waterworks
Water hardness8.4 °dH, mediumNo legal limit, only a range
Data coverageCore parameters: 3 of 7Score provisional

Verified drinking-water values

Parameter	Value	Limit (TrinkwV)	Sampling date	Source	Status
Nitrate	4.8 mg/L	50 mg/L	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
PFAS (sum)	0 µg/L	0.1 µg/L in force since 12 January 2026 from 12 January 2028: additionally PFAS-4 0.02 µg/L	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
Uranium	< 0.0001 mg/L	0.01 mg/L	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
Mercury	< 0.0001 mg/L	0.001 mg/L	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
Chromium	< 0.0005 mg/L	0.025 mg/L from 12 January 2030: 0.005 mg/L	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
Chloride	29 mg/L 12 % of the limit	250 mg/L	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
Sulphate	76 mg/L 30 % of the limit	250 mg/L	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
Sodium	11 mg/L	200 mg/L	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
pH	7.78	6.5–9.5	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
Total hardness	8.4 °dH (medium)	no legal limit	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
Electrical conductivity	371 µS/cm	–	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
Fluoride	< 0.1 mg/L	1.5 mg/L	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
Iron	0.02 mg/L 10 % of the limit	0.2 mg/L	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
Manganese	< 0.005 mg/L	0.05 mg/L	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
Ammonium	< 0.03 mg/L	0.5 mg/L	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified
Coliform bacteria	0 KBE/100ml	0 per 100 ml	8 May 2026	Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH	verified

Note from the test report (in the German original): Analyseergebnisse auf der Seite der Stadtwerke, Stand 08.05.2026; ein Laborbericht ist nicht verlinkt und die Probenstelle nicht genannt. Laut Stadtwerken wird im gesamten Stadtgebiet Wasser im Härtebereich mittel geliefert, die Härte nennen sie mit 8,4 °dH. Calcium, Magnesium, Blei, Kupfer und Arsen stehen nicht in der Tabelle. Summe PFAS-20 und PFAS-4 sind mit 0,000 µg/l angegeben.

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 Heinsberg, 46 % of buildings with living space were built before 1970, and a further 13 % 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 Heinsberg

Nitrate 4.8 mg/L – about 10 % 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.
Uranium – not detectable at the waterworks (limit 10 µg/L).
pH 7.78 – 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 Heinsberg in everyday life

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

Dose detergent for the hardness range “medium”.
As a rule of thumb, descale the kettle about every four to six weeks and the coffee machine as the manufacturer recommends.
A limescale protection device is not a must at medium hardness; regular descaling is often enough.

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

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.

Values at the waterworks next to the maximum levels for bottled water “suitable for infant food”
Substance	Maximum level	Value in Heinsberg
Sodium	20 mg/l	11 mg/l – not above
Nitrate	10 mg/l	4.8 mg/l – not above
Nitrite	0.02 mg/l	not in the report
Sulphate	240 mg/l	76 mg/l – not above
Fluoride	0.7 mg/l	below the detection limit (0.1 mg/l) – not above
Manganese	0.05 mg/l	below the detection limit (0.005 mg/l) – not above
Arsenic	0.005 mg/l	not in the report
Uranium	0.002 mg/l	below the detection limit (0.0001 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 11 mg/l, threshold below 20 mg/l).

Questions about baby food are answered by your midwife, your paediatrician and the health office (Gesundheitsamt).

Frequently asked questions about tap water in Heinsberg

Can you drink the tap water in Heinsberg?

According to the verified values, yes: All tested parameters with a legal limit (13) meet the limits set by the German Drinking Water Ordinance (TrinkwV). WaterScore (provisional): 100 out of 100 – the test report contains only 3 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 Heinsberg?

The total hardness is 8.4 °dH – hardness range “medium”. Dose detergent for the hardness range “medium”.

Is there PFAS in the tap water in Heinsberg?

Not in measurable amounts: according to the published analysis by Stadtwerke Heinsberg (as of 8 May 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.

Do I need to filter my tap water in Heinsberg?

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

Total (provisional)100 / 100
Chemical safety100 / 100
Heavy metals100 / 100
PFAS100 / 100
Nutrients100 / 100
General parameters100 / 100
Data timeliness100 / 100
Data quality100 / 100

Data coverage: 3 of 7 core parameters. Not in the test report: Nitrite, Lead, Copper and Arsenic. Missing parameters are neither estimated nor counted as harmless: the score is based only on the values available and is therefore provisional. It is not a health assessment and says nothing about the water beyond the service connection. Methodology v4: how we calculate the WaterScore.

Evidence: cite and check

Wasserqualität: Analyseergebnisse, Stand 08.05.2026 (Stadtwerke Heinsberg GmbH)

Suggested citation: Trinkwassermonitor (2026): Tap water in Heinsberg. Values according to the water supplier’s test report, sampling date 8 May 2026; at the waterworks, not household plumbing. https://trinkwassermonitor.ink/en/tap-water/heinsberg/

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

Data as of: 8 May 2026 · verified: 16 of 16 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 Heinsberg. Retrieved from https://trinkwassermonitor.ink/en/tap-water/heinsberg/.”