Water analysis

Drinking water:

Drinking water is the most heavily regulated and closely monitored foodstuff in the European Union. It is subject to constant health monitoring to ensure that it is safe, and must meet very strict standards set by the Grand-Ducal regulation of October the 7th 2002 on the quality of water intended for human consumption, based on a European directive.

Drinking water quality checks:

The municipal administration regularly carries out in-depth analyses of the drinking water in the Mamer municipal network. The water supplied is regularly checked from a chemical and bacteriological perspective at the source and in the network, and its quality meets the standards established by law.

These include:

• routine controls, which are carried out regularly;
• comprehensive controls, which are carried out 2 or 3 times a year and during which a total of 106 parameters, including various pesticides, are analysed;
• self-monitoring of springs and reservoirs, which is carried out regularly; chemical analyses of springs and weekly checks are carried out by the Syndicat des Eaux du Sud (SES).

Glossary of terms:

Bacteriological quality
The bacteriological quality of water is assessed by regularly testing for bacteria whose presence in drinking water indicates contamination.

Hardness
The hardness of water corresponds to the content of calcium and magnesium salts naturally present in water. It is expressed in degrees and varies between 0° and 50°.

Nitrates
Nitrates occur naturally in soil and water. Excessive or poorly controlled use of fertilisers leads to an increase in nitrates in water resources. To be suitable for consumption by pregnant women and infants, water must not contain more than 50 mg of nitrates per litre.

Pesticides
The presence of pesticides in water resources is due to poor control of the products used to protect crops or to weed. The regulatory value of 0.1 mg/litre is below known toxicity thresholds.