When it comes to drinking water, Germans are well known for reaching for plastic bottles instead of turning on the tap. But those who still turn to tap water for their hydration and household needs are now paying more for every drop; the price of tap water in Germany rose on average over 17.6 percent between 2005 and 2016, an evaluation from the pro-environment Green party has found.

The evaluation, which was reported on by German public broadcaster ARD, attributed the rising prices to nitrate pollution from agricultural production and manure.

While the average national price has risen, the evaluation pointed out that the costs for tap water varied across Germany's 16 states. Municipalities within each state set their own base price for water usage per cubic meter (1,000 liters).

Eastern states Berlin and Brandenburg and central state Thuringia saw water prices fall over the 11-year time span, while costs in southern Bavaria grew more than in any other state, rising just around 60 percent.

Water purification plants, like this one in Saxony, must remove the nitrates in to-be tap water in an expensive process

However, the state with the highest overall base cost for tap water was the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Households in the industry-dense region saw people paid on average €300 ($357) per year between 2005 and 2016. Tap water was cheapest in Berlin, costing around €173.

The Green's parliamentary party based its evaluation on statistics from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

Nitrates must be purified

Green politicians, as well as the Federal Environmental Agency and federal energy and water suppliers all attribute the rising average tap water costs across Germany to one key factor: nitrates from industrial and agricultural activities that have seeped into groundwater.

The nitrate runoff, which comes from mineral fertilizers as well as liquid manure, causes purification costs to go up.

Beer culture - this is how Germany drinks Spoilt for choice Germany is a beer country - and that's a fact. Using only four ingredients German brewers have managed to create over 5,500 brands of beer. And that number is growing because every week a new beer is released on the market. But Germany manages quantity as well as quality: no other European country produces more beer.

Beer culture - this is how Germany drinks You can always have a beer When it comes to drinking alcohol, whether at an office party, during intermission at the theater or just relaxing as pictured here in Berlin's Görlitzer Park, beer is always an appropriate choice in Germany, and can be consumed legally in public.

Beer culture - this is how Germany drinks Traditional festivals are a must Funfair stalls, brass bands and "Schlager" music are the ingredients of a traditional German festival. A challenge to get through unless you consume plenty of beer. For these occasions regional breweries often create a festival beer. The best known of these is probably the Oktoberfest beer, which is made especially for the festival in Munich and served in one liter Bavarian beer mugs.

Beer culture - this is how Germany drinks Football and beer - a winning combination Football is also a celebration, and beer goes with football the way mustard goes with a bratwurst sausage. It helps fans celebrate and consoles them if their team loses. At any stadium the link between football teams and breweries is obvious: beer advertising features on the players' shirts and banners. And in many Bundesliga football arenas the beer brand sponsoring the team is also served.

Beer culture - this is how Germany drinks Beer can be bought round the clock In the Ruhr area it's known as a Trinkhalle, in Mainz it is called a Büdchen and in Berlin it goes by the name of Späti. These neighborhood kiosks sell newspapers, tobacco, sweets, and usually beer. What began more than 150 years ago as a place to sell water, now serves as a pit stop for big city beer drinkers.

Beer culture - this is how Germany drinks The corner pub - a temple of German beer Berlin's corner pubs, like the Willi Mangler in the Schönefeld district, are a part of German beer history. They have also become something of a cult. The mix of stuffy air, no nonsense food and a crowd of regular bar flies is what makes them so charming. Tourists rarely venture here, but residents of the neighborhood come to enjoy their after work beer.

Beer culture - this is how Germany drinks Beer gardens - fun in the sun Beer gardens are also traditional to German beer culture. These days they can be found all over Germany, but they originate from the beginning of the 19th century in Bavaria. Back then brewers served their beer straight from the cooling cellars along the banks of the river Isar. Especially on hot days the cellar beer gardens were popular among people from Munich.

Beer culture - this is how Germany drinks Bavaria - cradle of the Beer Purity Law In Bavaria, where the German Beer Purity Law was adopted in 1516, beer has been an established part of life for centuries. Today, Bavaria has more than 600 breweries, more than in any other state in Germany. In the Middle Ages the breweries were firmly in the grip of monasteries. Some of these still exist, the oldest being Weltenburg Abbey on the Danube.

Beer culture - this is how Germany drinks Craft beer - modern brewing techniques Traditional breweries have now been joined by more experimental beer makers like Georg-Augustin Schmidt. His micro-brewery "Braustil" in Frankfurt-am-Main produces small amounts of new varieties which have powerful aromas and are usually made with regional, organic ingredients. The craft-beer scene is especially strong in Hamburg and Berlin.

Beer culture - this is how Germany drinks How it's done - beer brewing seminars Those who are crazy about beer beyond drinking it will find more than 30 beer museums, beer hikes and beer brewing seminars in Germany. You can create your own beer at the "Grillakademie" craft beer seminar in Bochum. Participants also learn about the different varieties of beer as well as German brewing traditions and, of course, the German Beer Purity Law.

Beer culture - this is how Germany drinks Once in the right glass: Cheers! To mark German Beer Day on April 23, here's a quick guide. From left to right: the Berliner Weisse goes in a bowl-shaped glass, Kristallweizen wheat beer in a tall glass, lager is served in a beer mug, followed by a short glass for the dark Altbier, the small, narrow glass for the Cologne Kölsch brew, the rounded glass for Pils beer and finally the Bavarian half-liter beer mug. Author: Christina Deicke/sc/nr



Read more: Report: Nitrate threatens groundwater in Germany

"Groundwater is often over-contaminated with nitrates precisely in areas with land used intensively for agriculture," the Federal Environmental Agency said in 2017.

The head of the Green's parliamentary party, Anton Hofreiter, said that the rising cost of tap water was a consequence of the agribusiness policy promoted by Angela Merkel's coalition government:

"When the federal government lets agribusiness flood our land with liquid manure, tap water consumers are left with the bill," Hofreiter said, describing the groundwater pollution as a "scandal."

The Green party is currently a member of the opposition.

EU not happy with German nitrate use

In 2017 Angela Merkel's previous coalition government oversaw an amendment tightening the use of fertilizer after the EU Commission took Germany to court for failing to abide by the bloc's regulations on nitrates.

However, the amendment did not go far enough for the Green party, which has called for a strategy to deal with excessive use of nitrate fertilizers.

German consumers also have to pay for wastewater disposal. These costs are calculated separately.

Editor's note (18.05.2018): The original version of this story stated, following information from the Green party, that the price of tap water had risen by 25 percent, not 17.6 percent, between 2005 and 2016.

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