Overview
- Routine monitoring by water company Evides detected elevated E. coli in the Dordrecht/Zwijndrecht supply, prompting a public instruction to boil tap water for three minutes.
- The precautionary boil-water advisory was issued for a 72-hour period and will remain in force while additional samples are taken and tested.
- Evides told residents it requires at least two consecutive negative samples before lifting the advice and will communicate quickly if the initial finding proves to be a false alarm.
- The alert triggered heavy local demand for bottled water, leaving many supermarket shelves empty, producing calls to police at a Jumbo in Sterrenburg and the deployment of extra security at busy stores.
- Testing and monitoring are ongoing and the immediate effects include strain on local retail supplies and disruption for residents who must boil water for drinking, cooking and teeth cleaning until the company confirms the supply is safe.