Drinkwater
In Aalst, Lede, Wetteren, Wichelen, Destelbergen and Lochristi, cloudy drinking water comes from the tap. Drinking water manager Farys is busy flushing the pipes. If you experience health problems, it is best to visit your GP.
Yesterday afternoon Farys put a new water pipeline into use, between Opwijk and Gijzegem (Aalst). “This has created a higher flow speed than normal,” says Dirk Verbeelen of Farys. “In this way, natural sediment from sand and clay sediments has been stirred up and ended up in the drinking water circulation.”
“Then a train left that we could no longer stop.” The sediments caused cloudy drinking water in Aalst, Lede, Wetteren, Wichelen, Destelbergen and Lochristi. This cloudy circulation could be stopped at the border with Ghent. “We can serve Ghent from other sides.” In Opwijk itself, the drinking water is not connected to the new pipe, so there are no problems there.
Farys flushed the pipes all night long by opening the above-ground and underground fire hydrants. “It’s like flushing the toilet,” says Verbeelen. “Why didn’t we communicate until Thursday afternoon? Because reports only came in this morning, and it was only then that we had an idea of the size of the area. And then we had to go through a mandatory procedure, via the Agency for Care and Health and the Flemish Environment Agency. We did everything we could last night.”
“Boil water before use”
On Thursday afternoon, Farys is still rinsing the pipes and adding extra chlorine to disinfect them as well. Potentially 40,000 home connections are affected. Residents are advised to boil the water before consuming it, brushing their teeth with it, rinsing open wounds or preparing food with it. “If you experience health problems, it is best to contact your GP,” says Verbeelen.
According to the drinking water network operator, most reports come from Aalst, Lochristi and Destelbergen. “There are not problems on every street. We will continue rinsing for a long time until the problems are resolved. We take samples constantly. Tomorrow morning there will be a crisis meeting and we will review the situation. I hope the situation does not drag on for much longer.”
