Water in everyday life

Last checked: 18.10.2026

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Drink tap water, save on hot water, refill at drinking fountains in summer: what really counts about water in everyday life in Berlin.

On average, every person in Germany uses 126 litres of drinking water a day at home – for showering, cooking, washing, cleaning and the toilet [1]. Many times that amount is hidden in food, clothing and other things we buy: 7,200 litres per person per day on paper, most of it used abroad [1]. So it pays to take a closer look at water in everyday life: where do you really save something – and where not?

Drink tap water

Berlin's drinking water comes from the groundwater of the Berlin glacial valley (Berliner Urstromtal); the Berliner Wasserbetriebe, the city's public water utility, check it along the entire cycle from the well to the building connection, and according to the utility it needs no additives at all [2]. Drinking tap water saves bottles, crates and trips to the shop. As for the pipes in your building: water that has been standing for a long time can warm up, so taps should be used regularly [3].

Hot water is the biggest lever

In Germany, saving cold water has so far mostly not been a question of scarcity – only in hot, dry summers should you consciously use less, advises the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) [4]. With hot water, on the other hand, you always save energy too: according to the German Environment Agency, hot water accounted for around 16 per cent of the energy consumption of private households in 2024 and around eleven per cent of their electricity consumption [7].

The easiest step is a water-saving shower head: conventional shower heads let through 12 to 15 litres per minute, water-saving ones 6 to 9 litres [3]. According to a calculation by the Öko-Institut, an independent environmental research institute, this saves around 20,000 litres of water a year in a two-person household [3]. A shower usually uses less water than a full bath – but if you stand under a conventional shower head for more than ten minutes, you end up using more [3]. Washing machines and dishwashers save the most when they run fully loaded [4].

What does not belong in the drain

Leftover paint and medicines do not belong in the toilet or the sink [4]. In Berlin, the hazardous-waste points at six recycling centres (Recyclinghöfe) of the BSR, Berlin's public waste collection and street cleaning company, accept paints, varnishes and old medicines [6] – details in the guide “Disposing of things properly in Berlin”.

In summer: refill and water wisely

The roughly 250 public drinking fountains of the Berliner Wasserbetriebe offer free drinking water; they run from April to October [5]. Your own bottle is all you need – the location map on the Wasserbetriebe website also shows when each fountain is in operation [5]. If you water a balcony, courtyard or tree pit, the German Environment Agency advises: water at night or in the morning and evening, close to the ground rather than over the leaves, less often but thoroughly rather than a little every day, and collect rainwater [4]. How to manage this on a plot of land is explained in the urban greening guide on rainwater; what matters for yourself in hot weather is covered in the guide “Heat in the city”.

Places and events

Drinking fountains in BerlinMove and unwind

Bathing spots and places to unwindMove and unwind

GuideYour own plot: holding rainwater back instead of draining it – guide

GuideHeat in the city

GuideDisposing of things properly in Berlin

• Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 · Kehrenbürger Lichtenberg clean-up no. 90 at Tierpark underground station · U-Bahnhof Tierpark, ehemalige Brunnenanlage (Ausgang Heinrich-Dathe-Platz)
• Sat 7 Nov, 14:00 · Clean-up battle in Volkspark Hasenheide · Volkspark Hasenheide, Café Hasenschänke
• Thu 12 Nov, 16:00 · Forest bathing in the greenhouses · Botanischer Garten Berlin, Gewächshäuser

All upcoming events of this kind