No coffee at Utrecht offices, schools due to contaminated water
For many Utrecht province residents, the work week started without a cup of coffee or tea at the office. Due to bacteria contaminating the drinking water, the water needs to be boiled for three minutes before consumption. As a result, many coffee machines have been turned off.
Utrecht University warned students and staff that it had turned off all coffee machines in the university buildings. “So please bring coffee and tea from home,” the university wrote on its website. It also urged students and staff to pack a lunch, because the canteens may not be able to open.
The Utrecht courthouse will also not have coffee and tea available on Monday, RTV Utrecht reported. Coffee machines at several train stations are also turned off. It is “unfeasible” to first boil the water in the coffee machines for three minutes, an NS spokesperson told the regional broadcaster. The Utrecht hospitals also asked visitors and patients to bring their own drinks.
The bacteria found in the drinking water are typically not dangerous for healthy people, but can cause illness for people with fragile health or a weakened immune system. The advice to boil drinking water for three minutes before use applies to 125,000 tap connections in parts of Utrecht, Bilthoven, Bosch en Duin, Bunnik, Groenekan, Maarssen, Oud-Zuilen, Tienhoven, Westbroek, and Zeist until at least Tuesday.
