The boil advice for the use of drinking water, which applied in Assen and Rolde due to E.coli bacteria, has been lifted immediately. This is what drinking water company WMD reports.
“All samples and tests so far show that the bacteria are no longer there and that the drinking water is 100 percent safe again,” WMD writes. The water will be checked additionally in the coming days as a precaution.
Customers in Assen and Rolde were asked on Friday to boil water for three minutes before drinking. This advice followed a contamination with E.coli bacteria that was discovered during an inspection. Healthcare institutions and the Wilhelmina Hospital Assen received bottled water, because boiling tap water is not possible for them.
The E.coli bacteria are not harmful to health and occur naturally in the intestines. In people with weakened resistance, there is a small chance that the bacteria will lead to mild stomach and intestinal complaints.
It is not yet clear how the bacteria ended up in the water. “In very rare cases, a brief contamination occurs that cannot be traced. Although we are not sure what caused it, thanks to extensive testing we can say that the water is 100 percent safe to drink.”
The drinking water is continuously tested for quality, WMD emphasizes. Drinking water laboratory WLN in Glimmen takes samples every day and WMD does this in the water extraction area, in the drinking water purification, in the pipe network and at customers’ homes.