Is the tap water safe to drink in Austria?

Yes. WHO and UNICEF put the share of people in Austria with safely managed drinking water at 98.9% in 2024, and the health ministry's latest report found that more than 98% of the samples it examined met the national drinking water regulation.

What the official figures say

Water is checked from source to tap, both by the suppliers themselves and by official inspectors, who cover every system serving more than 50 people or 10 cubic metres a day. The ministry's next step is a survey of the land around each source for risks such as pesticides.

Vienna's water is Alpine spring water that has flowed down to the city by gravity since 1873. The city looks after about 1,800 public drinking fountains in parks, playgrounds and markets, and turns them off over winter so they don't freeze. They come back on in early April.

How hard the water is depends on the rock it passes through. In Bregenz on Lake Constance, for example, the town utility rates its supply as medium hard, at 11.6 degrees of German hardness.

Why a public tap can still be different

Old troughs, ornamental fountains and springs along mountain paths aren't necessarily on the drinking supply, and some carry a kein Trinkwasser sign. On an old building, a tap can pick up metals from the building's own pipes. A seasonal fountain that has been off for months should run for a while before you drink from it.

Check the tap, then tell the next person

Look for a sign, check the spout and let the water run for a moment. If it's a good one, add it to Fontavio or leave a review, and mention if it only runs in the warmer months.

• Water, toilets and showers in Austria
• Drinking water near me

Sources

1. WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, household drinking water data (2025 update, estimates for 2024) (checked 2026-09-22)
2. Sozialministerium, Trinkwasserbericht 2024 (checked 2026-09-22)
3. Stadtwerke Bregenz, Wasserqualität (checked 2026-09-22)
4. Stadt Wien, Trinkbrunnen (checked 2026-09-22)
5. Wikipedia, First Vienna Mountain Spring Pipeline (checked 2026-08-03)