Drinking water company Vitens advises some residents of the Utrecht region to boil tap water for three minutes before drinking it or using it to prepare food. During the night from Friday to Saturday, the company discovered minor contamination with enterococcal bacteria in a drinking water reservoir in the Kanaleneiland district of Utrecht. The cause is still being investigated, a spokesperson said by telephone NRC.
Enterococcal bacteria occur naturally in the intestines of humans and animals. The bacteria generally do not pose a danger to healthy people, but vulnerable groups – such as young children, the elderly and people with reduced resistance – can, for example, experience mild gastrointestinal complaints after drinking contaminated water.
The advice applies to parts of Utrecht, Bilthoven, Bosch en Duin, De Bilt, Bunnik, Groenekan, Maarssen, Oud Zuilen, Tienhoven, Westbroek and Zeist. The reservoir in question at Kanaleneiland is part of the water ring around Utrecht and supplies approximately 125,000 households with water. According to an ANP reporter, about ten people were ready to stock up on water before opening time at a supermarket in Utrecht’s Twijnstraat on Saturday morning.
Vitens discovered the bacteria during a routine test, the spokesperson said. The reservoir was then closed off from the rest of the network, which means that no new contaminated water entered the network, according to Vitens.
The drinking water company expects to provide an update on the investigation and the possible lifting of the boil advice no later than Tuesday, November 4.
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