Poorly connected plumbing has caused an outbreak of faecal bacteria contimination in Grafarvogur, and there may be similar incidents in at least one other harbour.
RÚV reports that city environmental expert Þröstur Ingólfur Víðisson has determined that poorly connected plumbing in an apartment building in the Bryggjuhverfi of Grafarvogur has led to the bacteria to spreading in the fjord. More disturbingly, officials have been trying to find the source of an outbreak of the same bacteria in Fossvogur for the past two years now.
In the case in Grafarvogur, the source of the pollution was found in a few hours. It was discovered that raw sewage from the building was not connected to proper sewer pipes, but rather to a pipe which carries rain water directly to the fjord. As a result, the apartment building’s entire waste was being continuously dumped in the fjord for about ten years.
The source of the Fossvogur contamination is still unknown, but there are many old houses in the neighbourhood that could be possible suspects. In order to find the source, nearly every house will have to be visited one by one, Þröstur said.
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