Quality control

In order to safeguard the outstanding quality of the Berlin drinking water now and in the future, the water is permanently monitored at every point in the drinking water cycle – in the soil, in the wells, in the waterworks and in the transport pipelines.

The water is inspected even before it reaches the wells in the depths of the ancient river valley sand. More than 2,500 groundwater observation pipes supply samples, from which analysis results play an important role for the long-term strategy of the waterworks supply.

Further samples are taken directly at the individual wells. As soon as the groundwater reaches the surface, these samples are taken. Detailed knowledge of the condition of the raw water – as the groundwater is called in this phase in the waterworks – is important in order to ensure that no chemical and biological impairments necessitate any quality assurance interventions.  In the transport lines to each waterworks, several samples are also taken per week as a routine measure.

Berlin’s groundwater – and only this groundwater is used for the production of drinking water – is of a high quality. Disinfection using chlorine, ozone or UV light is therefore superfluous. In order to ensure that this high quality is not impaired en route to the consumer, for example as a result of construction work or leaks in the pipe grid, monthly samples taken from 180 points on customers’ premises are examined routinely. In addition, every newly laid or modernised pipeline is  only connected to the grid when the analysis results from the laboratory confirm that the water is bacteriologically safe.