[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”||1px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.27.8″ header_2_font_size=”24px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n
Major changes are currently underway in drinking water analysis, which will result in entirely new requirements and processes starting in January 2027. From that point on, the newly developed, standardized XWasser standard will apply to all partners involved in these processes\u2014from laboratories to water utilities and public health departments, all the way up to state and federal authorities. To this end, we have written a technical article for LABO magazine that explains the new framework and outlines specific courses of action for the laboratories affected. The article will appear in the September issue of LABO on September 16, 2026. However, we would like to provide you with a brief overview of it today. <\/p>\n
The current situation regarding drinking water analysis in Germany has been such that, across the 16 federal states, data from the mandatory regular testing of drinking water quality has been transmitted using a variety of different interfaces and data standards. This significantly complicates the exchange of data among the states. In addition, the lack of standards also results in high post-processing costs, potential data loss due to (partially) manual transmission methods, and, in general, data transmission of varying quality\u2014for example, in terms of completeness and plausibility. Furthermore, there are error-prone interfaces that had to be readjusted every time EU reporting requirements changed. <\/p>\n
To address these challenges and harmonize data exchange in the field of drinking water hygiene, the nationwide SHAPTH project was launched as part of the Public Health Service Pact (\u201c\u00d6GD\u201d). The goal is to provide standardized data exchange formats and a shared exchange platform through which all participating stakeholders (laboratories, water utilities, public health departments, state and federal agencies) can transmit their data efficiently, securely, and in a standardized manner. This is intended to replace existing error-prone processes involving many different formats, reduce bureaucracy and manual effort, and improve data quality and IT security. <\/p>\n
The standard developed as part of the SHAPTH project is called XWasser<\/em> and is a data format for nationwide data exchange in the field of drinking water hygiene. The standard enables a uniform language and structure across all federal states. In practical terms, this means that laboratories must prepare their drinking water analysis data in the XWasser<\/em> format so that it can be transmitted to the relevant authorities via the SHAPTH platform or through an API. The mandatory nationwide implementation is scheduled for January 1, 2027. <\/p>\n Time is therefore running out for laboratories involved in drinking water analysis. The options available to them now depend in particular on their level of digitization (use of a Laboratory Information and Management System\u2014LIMS) and the expected volume of reports. This is explained in detail in the article in LABO, which we neither wish nor are able to preview here. <\/p>\n Just this much: We’ve already adapted SAMPLES to meet the XWasser standard! You can find more information on this in the “Drinking Water Analysis” section. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/samples.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SHAPTH_LIMS_Tablet-scaled.png” alt=”SAMPLES screen with SHAPTH integration for transferring drinking water data in the XWasser standard on a tablet” title_text=”SAMPLES on a tablet with SHAPTH integration” _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_button button_text=”About the Field of Drinking Water Analysis” _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” button_alignment=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ button_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9saW5rX3VybF9wYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsicG9zdF9pZCI6IjI1Mzg4IiwiZW5hYmxlX2h0bWwiOiJvZmYifX0=@” _dynamic_attributes=”button_url”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Major changes are currently underway in drinking water analysis, which will result in entirely new requirements and processes starting in January 2027. From that point on, the newly developed, standardized XWasser standard will apply to all partners involved in these processes\u2014from laboratories to water utilities and public health departments, all the way up to state […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":25478,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,35,26],"tags":[194,172,197,132,162,174,113,88,200,175,198,199],"class_list":["post-25505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-page","category-news","category-product","tag-analytics","tag-digitization","tag-drinking-water","tag-features","tag-functionalities","tag-lab-4-0","tag-laboratory","tag-lims","tag-press-articles","tag-requirements","tag-shapth","tag-xwater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samples.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samples.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samples.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samples.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samples.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25505"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/samples.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25507,"href":"https:\/\/samples.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25505\/revisions\/25507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samples.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samples.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samples.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samples.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}