St. Radegund

Drinking water still undrinkable in storm areas

Mayor Hannes Kogler in front of the closed school in St. Radegund

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian)

Since the severe storms last weekend, the drinking water in St. Radegund (Graz-Umgebung district) and Deutschfeistritz has been undrinkable. The clean-up work continues.

It was one of the many bad consequences of the devastating storms in Styria: the drinking water from the local water supply was contaminated by the brown flood and could not be drunk. This was true for Deutschfeistritz as well as for St. Radegund and around the Schöckl.

On the Tuesday after the disaster, the source of the contaminated water was identified in the municipality of St. Radegund. Nevertheless, even a week later, there is still no all-clear, as the municipality informed: "The laboratory report on the drinking water contamination is available. Despite intensive efforts and cleaning of the elevated tanks, the new test still found harmful contaminants and the water was not released!"

Water for sale at the municipal office
The water is still not safe to drink. "It is recommended to buy drinking water in shops; water can also be purchased at the municipal office during office hours," it says. 

The next test result should be available on June 21. Households supplied by Schöckl-Alpenquell are not affected.

Boiling recommended
The situation is similar in Deutschfeistritz, which has been badly affected: water samples showed contamination throughout the village. Drinking water should therefore be boiled for at least three minutes. However, tap water can be used for personal hygiene.

On Sunday, the municipality distributed up to nine liters of water per household. Sampling took place again on Monday and an update is expected on Wednesday.