Overview
- About 125,000 connections in parts of Utrecht and nearby towns are told to boil tap water for three minutes before drinking, cooking or brushing teeth.
- Vitens has taken the contaminated storage tank out of service and is flushing and testing the network; the duration of the advisory remains unknown.
- Enterococci are usually harmless for healthy people, but Vitens urges extra caution for pregnant people, older adults, children and those with underlying conditions.
- Supermarkets across the affected area report bottled-water shortages as shoppers stock up, while Albert Heijn rushes replenishments and asks customers not to overbuy.
- Hospitals including the Diakonessenhuis and UMC Utrecht have switched to boiled or bottled water and paused some dispensers, and they report no impact on patient care.