From Iceland — Drinking Water In Seyðisfjörður Unfit For Consumption

Drinking Water In Seyðisfjörður Unfit For Consumption

Published February 1, 2016

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Ira Goldstein/Wikimedia Commons

Water treatment plant malfunctions have led to drinking water in the Icelandic village being unfit for drinking straight away.

In a statement posted on the town’s website, officials announced that bacterial contamination has been detected in the drinking water. This contamination was the result of a malfunction at a nearby water treatment plant.

Until the plant is fully repaired, residents are advised to boil their water before drinking it. This is especially the case if the water is intended for children, the elderly or the infirmed.

Most troubling, the contamination, detected on January 28, was from a sample taken on January 17. Seyðisfjörður mayor Vilhjálmur Jónsson told reporters that the situation is unacceptable. He has demanded that new equipment be set up so that any contamination in the water will issue an immediate alert – not one days or weeks after the fact.

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