Overview
- Vitens said tap water is safe to drink again after two successive negative lab rounds that followed 48-hour cultures of samples.
- Residents may use taps immediately; only faucets not used in recent days should be run for one minute, the utility advised.
- The Utrecht-Kanaleneiland storage reservoir has been taken out of service and emptied for cleaning, with the cause under investigation and possible factors described as unconfirmed hypotheses such as high groundwater, a crack or heavy rainfall.
- The advisory had covered about 125,000 connections across Utrecht, Bilthoven, De Bilt, Zeist and nearby towns, triggering supermarket sellouts and operational adjustments at workplaces and public venues.
- VVD, PvdA and UtrechtNU! have asked the provincial executive about prevention measures and the feasibility of emergency stockpiles, while Vitens notes stored reserves lose quality after roughly 24 hours and Utrecht University is keeping a one-day precaution as campus systems are flushed.