The Odenwaldschule, and the village of Ober-Hambach where it is located, are among the few settlements in Germany which do not have a public, i.e. local-authority-operated water supply. A system of pipes would have been much too expensive because Ober-Hambach is about 6 km away from the district capital Heppenheim, it is situated 200 m higher in altitude and consists only of a few houses.

Furthermore there are enough water resources in Ober-Hambach because it is located on the westernmost slope of the Odenwald (a low mountain range) where it rains relatively often. For that reason all the houses and the school are provided with drinking water by self-owned springs. Since the drinking water provision in Germany is regulated by law (drinking water ordinance and DIN 2000), the Odenwaldschule which consequently provides itself with its own drinking water is forced to monitor the quality with chemical and biological analyses.

By participating in "eureau@actions" we would like to systematize the analyses which are already being conducted by upper grade students (some of whom are trained to become chemical technicians) and to publish the results.