Drinking water

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The tap water in Klagenfurt should still be boiled before drinking - or people can fall back on clean, bottled drinking water.

(Bild: Fister Katrin)

The cause of the bacterial contamination in Klagenfurt's drinking water is still being feverishly sought. In the meantime, the Austrian Armed Forces have arrived with a water tank and a water treatment plant to supply the people of Klagenfurt.

Since Friday, the recommendation has been to boil Klagenfurt's tap water before drinking it. Drinking water is also distributed, partly in tetrapacks produced for milk. "Today we distributed 8800 liters of water in tetrapacks from Berglandmilch. Another 20,000 packets will arrive tomorrow," says Wolfgang Germ, who is the head of the task force. "It's a task force, not a crisis team. We don't have a crisis because we have enough water. We just have to boil it at the moment."

Armed forces move in
On Thursday, the army will distribute water from a certified container, and on Friday the army's water treatment plant, which has been in use during the floods in Lower Austria, will arrive, according to Colonel Thomas Enenkel: "The plant can treat 10,000 liters per hour."

Drinking water in Klagenfurt: Germ, Ladurner, Smole, Scheider, Enenkel, Kammerer on what has happened so far and what is to happen

(Bild: Christina Natascha Kogler)

The entire system is now being flushed. "The bacteria levels were slightly higher in the west of Klagenfurt. But the incoming water is good. So we are flushing the system. It's about 900 kilometers of water pipes and 50,000 connections," says Stadtwerke board member Erwin Smole. Drinking water is likely to be released again in the north of the state capital first - but it is unclear when that will be.

The search for the cause is still in full swing. The 1550 hydrants are currently blocked, all recent burst pipes and construction sites are being checked. 20 water samples are being taken every day, 20 analyses are available every day - but the cultures in the water need 48 hours to grow in order to be able to make any statement at all.

The bacterial cultures need 48 hours to grow. Only then can a sample show a result. It is therefore not possible to estimate when drinking water can be safely used again.

Amtsärztin Nadja Ladurner

Mainly vulnerable people should protect themselves
"Healthy people will not have a problem if they drink the water at the moment, but vulnerable people should protect themselves. The following therefore still applies: boil water before drinking. Nothing can happen when brushing your teeth or showering. If someone has large wounds, their immune system is already busy and shouldn't get bacteria into the wound," said Nadja Ladurner from the health authority.

Mayor Christian Scheider emphasized on Wednesday that all public and private kindergartens, schools, homes and other institutions would be supplied with water, and that everyone in Klagenfurt could get water at the trade fair parking lot or from the municipal utilities.