Boiling makes it safe

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The floods have also contaminated drinking water.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

Following the floods, the problem is now increasingly shifting to the supply of drinking water: many supply wells in Lower Austria have been flooded, pipes have broken and the groundwater level is high. As a result, contaminants have found their way into the drinking water. On Friday, 20 municipalities across the state were still affected.

 "Not everywhere where warnings are issued, the water is necessarily 'contaminated' in the literal sense of the word," Regina Klenk reassures. The regional medical director speaks of a constantly changing situation in the affected regions. As of Friday, there were 20 large municipalities in which there was a warning for drinking water.

Chlorine added for disinfection 
"The supply systems are generally equipped with disinfection facilities," says Klenk. "However, in special locations - such as where there are many fields nearby - it is mainly suspended particles that are the problem," says the health expert. However, when the flood hit some parts of the country, disinfection measures were introduced immediately as a precaution.

The country's largest water supplier, EVN, did not only initiate this in risk areas. "We supply around 650,000 people in the country with drinking water," explains Stefan Zach. "This protective measure is currently active for around half of them," says the company spokesperson.

The water quality checks have been tightened up. The entire network is tested - both private and public.

Regina Klenk, Landessanitätsdirektorin von Niederösterreich

The dosage of protective chlorine is low
The addition of chlorine is not necessarily reflected in the taste, as the doses added are very low. For comparison: 14 million liters of water are discharged daily from the Bisamberg supply point. Only 10 liters of special protective chlorination are required for this quantity.

Information on the regional situation in your place of residence can be obtained from the local authorities or can be found on their homepages. If you still want complete safety, boil the water for at least three minutes.