The leak has probably been going on since Sunday, but was not discovered until Friday morning.
– This has meant that some unclean waste water has flowed into the Alnaelva and further into the Oslofjord, says Frode Hult, emergency manager at the Water and Wastewater Agency in Oslo, to NRK.
The Alna river flows into Bjørvika.
– We have never experienced the like
There are 130 million liters of waste water that has been cleaned.
This corresponds to 16,250 lorry loads.
Hult says that a wall inside a drainage pipe has been broken. It has probably happened because of the storm last weekend.
Frode Hult, emergency manager at the water and sewage agency in Oslo, says they discovered the broken wall while on another mission on Friday.
Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / NRK
– It is quite fierce. We have never experienced the likes of what happened to the system in the water and sewerage agency.
The emergency manager says the broken wall shorted out their system.
– It shows how tough it is to live in a dense city with climate change, a lot of dense surfaces and a lot of rapid runoff which has caused this wall to collapse.
He adds that they have largely stopped the leak, but they are still working on it.
– We will continue to work through Friday and the weekend to stop the rest.
This is what it looks like on the inside of the drain pipe, where a wall has broken.
Photo: Water and Wastewater Agency in Oslo
Do not advise swimming
Oslo municipality now advises against swimming in the Oslofjord.
– We have been in contact with the municipal superintendent now, and it is advised against swimming in parts of the inner Oslofjord until next week, says Hult.
The advice applies to popular bathing spots such as Sørenga, Operastranda, Hovedøya, Lindøya and Bleikøya until further notice.
– Since the sewage has gone untreated into the fjord, there may be increased levels of bacteria, viruses and other infectious substances in the water, says senior municipal doctor Frode Hagen in Oslo municipality to NRK.
– This can lead to an increased risk of becoming infected when you are exposed to this.
It was TV 2 who first reported that the municipality advises against swimming.
Be alert
The municipal superintendent advises people who have bathed in the area in recent days to be on the lookout for symptoms.
– Especially this with vomiting and diarrhoea.
The municipal superintendent is not aware of anyone falling ill after swimming in the Oslo Fjord in the last week.
– But it may take some time before this arrives, so we can get it afterwards.
Infection control and municipal chief physician in Oslo, Frode Hagen, asks people to be on the lookout for symptoms.
Photo: Torkil Stoltz / NRK
– What should you do if you get sick?
– If you need medical help, you should contact your GP to be examined in the usual way or emergency room if it is outside opening hours.
He adds that there is little risk of getting sick after bathing.
– The sewage will quickly be diluted with all the other water that is there.
The Water and Sewerage Agency worked all Friday to stop the leak.
– Now a few liters in seconds go out into that overflow.
He says that the municipality continues to work through the afternoon.
2023-09-01 14:48:48
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