Quality of Amsterdam tap water

Tap water in and around Amsterdam is of the highest quality. Het Waterlaboratorium research institute measures water quality every day. This way you can be sure that your tap water is of excellent quality.

An employee of Het Waterlaboratorium examines water under a microscope.

To make sure that the quality is high, Het Waterlaboratorium tests for a number of different substances. In addition, employees check the taste, smell and temperature. They check whether the tap water is nice and clear and how hard or soft it is. They also carry out regular tests to determine the levels of microplastics and PFAS in the tap water.

Lead pipes and tap water quality

Do you live in a house built before 1960? If you do, you may have old lead pipes for your water supply in your home. Small particles of lead can enter your tap water through these pipes. This could be harmful to your health.

Do you think you have lead pipes? Read more about lead pipes in your home.

Do I need to purify my water myself?

Did you know that tap water in Amsterdam is among the cleanest in the world? We have the quality of our tap water checked even more rigorously than spring water. Our tap water is also very soft. It contains very little lime. In fact, only 8 degrees dH (German degree of Hardness). Water is not hard until it reaches 12 dH. So, you do not need to purify your water at home with a water treatment system.

Measuring tap water quality

Het Waterlaboratorium research institute (you will leave this site) measures the quality of our tap water every day. They do this in the following places:

at the sources of our tap water
during the production of tap water
in the water storage tanks
in the water pipes
at the homes of customers

What if they discover that there is too much of a certain substance in the water? Then we make sure that measures are taken in time.

What substances do we measure?

The tap water we supply complies with strict legal requirements. The annual reports below show what substances we measure in the water. Does the tap water contain too much of a certain substance? Then we immediately take the necessary measures.

The amount of a substance in our tap water is shown in the table on the left in the annual reports.
The right-hand side of the table in the annual reports shows the maximum amount of a substance that is allowed to be present in the water. Or the minimum amount that must be in the water.

Tap water measurement data

The tap water measurement data can be found on this page in Dutch.