In Lieshout grateful use is being made of the emergency packages that have been stocked up. There has been no water in several streets since Thursday after a pipe burst. A day later, contrary to expectations, many homes still have no water. Brabant Water will provide drinking water points.
Brabant Water initially thought it would have repaired the damage within a few hours, but that was disappointing. According to local resident Lise, these are old pipes with several weak spots. “Once one place has been repaired, a pipe will burst again due to the pressure further down the road.”
Replace entire pipe
A spokesperson for Brabant Water confirms this reading. “The entire pipe actually needs to be replaced. That can only be done on Monday. Until then, we will repair the leaks and hope to have a working water system today. Residents can then shower and flush the toilet, but anyone who wants drinking water must first boil it for three minutes as a precaution.”
Two water points will be installed on Friday where local residents can receive five liter bottles of water. This concerns Bosrand 15 and Het Hof 2. Pallets with large jugs of water are ready at those addresses.
Improvise
The misery announced itself on Wednesday evening when several residents complained about low water pressure. On Thursday morning, no water came out of the tap at all, just like in 750 homes in Gerwen. On Friday, the affected homes are located in streets between Lieshout and Gerwen. This includes Fazantlaan, Deense Hoek, Bosrand and Heicamp.
Lise manages to get by quite well despite having to improvise a lot. “I have horses, so they get very chic water from bottles. In the meantime, workmen are walking around here because of a renovation, and there are also some extra bottles ready for that. And no, the local supermarket does not have a shortage of bottled water yet. If that is the case, I will drive to a village further away.”
Water from the pond
Ernie Hiemstra thinks he can make do without water. “But we can’t be fooled. We flush the toilet with water from the pond. We check whether there are any fish in there, we cannot prevent some duckweed from disappearing into the toilet bowl.
In the meantime, Ernie’s suffering has been somewhat alleviated by an emergency diversion of the water supply. This water should not be drunk. “But you can still take a shower and that is nice in this warm weather.”
Spoiled
Ad Biermans also finds it all difficult, but he is also inventive. “I shower at the gym. By the way, this situation makes us aware of how much we take for granted that there is always and everywhere water. We are spoiled. Long live the emergency package.”