Drinking water quality in household supply infrastructure--A survey of the current situation in Germany

As a result of the amendment to the German Drinking Water Ordinance in 2001, local public health authorities are obliged to monitor the water supply in installations providing water for public use (Section 18 German Drinking Water Ordinance). With a systematic and nationwide survey of locally available data relating to hygienic drinking water quality and the existing drinking water infrastructure in buildings, the extent of microbial contamination of in-building distribution systems in Germany is intended to be assessed. To gain an overview of the microbial contamination of drinking water in public buildings all 419 local public health authorities in Germany were contacted in 2007. In a detailed study with a representative cooperation level of 5% of these local public health authorities, the available data relating to microbiological, chemical, physical and technical parameters gained from in-building distribution systems were collected. Drinking water parameters were combined with regard to the total number of analyses and the absolute number as well as the percentage of limit compliance failures (n=108,288). Limits exceeded were classified as the failure to comply with the German Drinking Water Ordinance, DVGW technical regulations and Federal Environment Agency recommended limits. The highest rates of samples exceeding these limits were found for the parameter Legionella sp. which contaminated 12.8% of all samples (n=22,786; limit: 100 CFU/100ml), followed by heterotrophic plate count at 36 degrees C (3.5%, n=10,928; limit: 100 CFU/1 ml) and Pseudomonas sp. (2.9%, n=3468; limit: 0 CFU/100ml). Legionella sp. and Pseudomonas sp. pose a direct health risk to immunosuppressed users. Additionally, for some chemical parameters, such as nickel, iron and lead, a potential risk for the health of consumers was detected. Further data analysis may reveal whether this contamination is related to stagnation where there is only sporadic use or whether other factors are involved in the process of microbial growth in installation systems.