In the Diakonessenhuis in Utrecht, the drinking water crisis was averted this weekend before it could break out. Behind Marco ten Brink, responsible for food in the hospital, the bottles of mineral water are stacked above the waistline. The order was for 1,800 liters of water on Saturday, he says. After that, 1,200 liters was sufficient on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. A deep soup pot of water is still being boiled in the soup kitchen. There are already pans full of water, cooled and covered with plastic. Ready to use, but no one needs it. Each department collected water this morning: half a liter per employee. “Then you hear them grumbling,” says Van den Brink. “But I haven’t seen anyone come back for more.”
Since Saturday morning, drinking water company Vitens has been warning not to drink from the tap in Utrecht and surrounding areas, after contamination in one of the reservoirs. The enterococci bacteria found can cause people with compromised health to contract infections. The elderly and sick are especially at risk.
A second test will follow on Tuesday: only if both give a clean result will the signal turn green
The hospital is taking “all possible precautions,” says facility manager Renske van Ewijk. The patients lack nothing, according to her. The emergency department, operating rooms and day care departments are actively supplied, as are some outpatient clinics. Van Ewijk: “You sometimes want to be able to offer the dental surgeon an extra cup.”
Only visitors are appealed to their self-sufficiency. “Are you coming to visit our hospital? It’s nice if you bring a bottle yourself,” the site says.
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Purify
The results of a first test by Vitens were expected to be announced on Monday evening, but the company will not communicate them, a spokesperson said. The second test will follow on Tuesday: only if both give a clean result will the signal go green. The earliest it will be possible to drink from the tap again is Tuesday evening. In the hospital, the taps are then opened for another five minutes to purify them, says Van Ewijk.
This is allowed at the adjacent residential care center for the elderly NRC not informing a staff member how the drinking water supply is going. In the hall at the sheltered housing around the corner, a seventy-year-old in a green sweater and cap says that he had already built up an emergency stock. “On the advice of the government,” he says. “With a few packs of Bar-le-Duc. That works out great.” He does not want his name in the newspaper for privacy reasons.
This morning I drank from the tap, in a hurry. Probably can’t hurt
Bar-le-Duc produces the cardboard packs of mineral water that, despite the French name, is extracted from Utrecht soil. “That CEO can start counting his pennies,” jokes Sven Feijen (29) during a workout in the 24-hour fitness room, right behind the hospital. He was able to save someone from a sip of contaminated water on Saturday, he tells training buddy Annelijn Speel. “He was still standing at the tap filling his bottle.”
Joris Thesingh (26) takes long swigs from a 2 liter bottle between exercises, the water levels of which are marked with times and motivating slogans. That water has been boiled beforehand. “We also benefited from our mussel pan.”
You think about it all the time, says Thesingh. “Don’t drink from the tap, don’t drink. But this morning I did it anyway, in a hurry. It probably won’t do any harm.” Thesingh is a sous chef at a restaurant in Leidsche-Rijn. He even boiled the water he uses for the soup before adding the vegetables, he says.
Joris Thesingh in the 24-hour fitness room in Utrecht-Oost.
Photo Simon Lenskens
Distribution keys
During their break, students from the Bonifatius College walk with bottles of mineral water, purchased at the Jumbo branch, where the shelves are almost empty on Monday afternoon. The manager, who is not named NRC wants due to company policy, adds “what we still have”. But it’s going fast: “They’re kind of pulling it away from under your hands.”
In the Plus supermarket further away, water is rationed: each customer can purchase six half liters or nine half liters.
The Diakonessenhuis does not have to contend with such distribution problems. “Our suppliers have enough available,” says Van Ewijk. “If things are wrong nationally, you will have to deal with distribution keys, but this is so local that we have unlimited access to water.”
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