Clean water restored in Utrecht and surrounding areas, water company confirms

Tap water in Utrecht and nearby areas is once again safe for consumption, water company Vitens has confirmed. Recent test results show the supply is clean, allowing authorities to lift the boil-water advisory.

The boil-water advisory, in effect since Saturday, around 125,000 connections in the Vitens N.V. service area were affected by the boil-water advisory, including in Utrecht, Bilthoven, Bosch en Duin, Bunnik, De Bilt, Groenekan, Maarssen, Oud-Zuilen, Tienhoven, Westbroek, and Zeist.

The drinking water contained the intestinal bacterium enterococci, a bacterium that is naturally found in the human gut. Vitens is investigating the source of the contamination, stating that the bacterium originated from outside the system, possibly caused by a leak, high groundwater, or nearby maintenance activities. The company has not yet indicated when the cause will be known.

Vitens advises that if taps have not been used since the boil-water advisory, which had been set in place until Tuesday, the water should be run for a minute before use to thoroughly flush the household pipes.

Vitens immediately decommissioned the reservoir where the bacteria were found during the evening hours of Friday, leading into Saturday. “To make sure the drinking water network is now safe, we collected 20 water samples daily throughout the area under the boil-water advisory, taking them directly from customers’ taps,” the company said. “The samples were cultured for 48 hours. Following two consecutive clean results, we were able to lift the advisory for all 125,000 connections.”

Vitens has notified its customers that the boil-water advisory has been lifted, using channels such as email and text message.