Water hardness and tap water in Witten

Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, Nordrhein-Westfalen · Postcode 58452, 58453, 58454, 58455, 58456

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 (15), at the waterworks
• Water hardness6.2 °dH, softNo legal limit, only a range
• Data coverageCore parameters: 7 of 7Score based on complete data

Verified drinking-water values

Note from the test report (in the German original): Jahresmittelwerte 2025 des Verbund-Wasserwerks Witten (Grundwasser aus dem Ruhrtal, je zur Hälfte im Besitz der Stadtwerke Witten und der AVU), das das gesamte Versorgungsgebiet der Stadtwerke Witten und Teile von Wetter (Ruhr) beliefert; laut VWW aus bis zu 400 Einzeluntersuchungen (Hygiene-Institut des Ruhrgebiets, Bergische Wasser- und Umweltlabor, VWW-Labor). Nicht zu verwechseln mit dem gleichnamigen 'Wasserwerk Witten' der Wasserwerke Westfalen, das u. a. Herne beliefert. Eisen und Trihalogenmethane sind in dieser Analyse nicht ausgewiesen.

Is a value wrong or out of date?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 Witten, 59 % of buildings with living space were built before 1970, and a further 12 % 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 Witten

• Nitrate 11.1 mg/L – about 22 % of the limit of 50 mg/L and in the medium range – such values occur in catchments shaped by agriculture. Boiling does not reduce nitrate.
• PFAS (sum of PFAS-20) 33 ng/L – about 33 % of the limit of 100 ng/L (since 12 January 2026).
• 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 7.76 – 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 Witten in everyday life

At 6.2 °dH, Witten 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 Witten 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 Witten 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. Questions about baby food are answered by your midwife, your paediatrician and the health office (Gesundheitsamt).

Frequently asked questions about tap water in Witten

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 Verbund-Wasserwerk Witten – Jahresmittelwerte 2025 (Verbund-Wasserwerk Witten GmbH (VWW)) · SHA-256 of the evaluated file: e2547a8e671d9937…, checked on 3 October 2026

Suggested citation: Trinkwassermonitor (2025): Tap water in Witten. Values according to the water supplier’s test report, sampling date 2025; at the waterworks, not household plumbing. https://trinkwassermonitor.ink/en/tap-water/witten/

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

Data as of: 2025 · verified: 20 of 20 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 Witten. Retrieved from https://trinkwassermonitor.ink/en/tap-water/witten/.”

Further information

• German version: Trinkwasser in Witten
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