Residents across a large area of Iceland are being advised to shut off their hot water intake tonight as nearly a third of the nation faces a hot water outage until Wednesday, reports RÚV. Plumbing experts warn of potential damage if homeowners don’t prepare properly. Residents are urged to heat their homes in advance and keep windows closed.
Böðvar Ingi Guðbartsson, chairman of the Master Plumbers Association, stresses the importance of preparation. “First and foremost, everyone should familiarize themselves with their heating system type,” he advises.
The capital area has three main heating system types, requiring different shutdown procedures. Some need only the intake closed, while others require closing both intake and return pipes, as well as turning off floor heating circulation pumps. “I always recommend closing the intake as a minimum,” Böðvar says.
The “southern line” will be shut off at 22:00 tonight, affecting hot water supply to Hafnarfjörður, Garðabær, Kópavogur, Breiðholt, Norðlingaholt and Álftanes. The outage is expected to last at least 36 hours.
When service resumes, Böðvar reminds residents to reopen the return pipe first, followed by slowly opening the intake.
Largest shutdown in history
Sólrún Kristjánsdóttir, CEO of the utility company Veitur, explains the necessity of increasing water transport capacity. “We’re serving a growing community with more users on the system. We need to increase capacity not only for current residents but also to ensure quality of life for future generations. That’s why we’re doubling the southern line, and this shutdown marks the beginning of that project.”
This maintenance affects an unprecedented number of people. “I believe this is the largest area we’ve ever had to shut down, impacting about 120,000 people,” Sólrún notes.
Veitur expects to restore service by noon on Aug. 21. Sólrún urges residents to stay informed: “Unexpected issues may arise. We’ll promptly communicate any changes, so please follow our updates on veitur.is and our Facebook pages.”
Veitur’s website provides a FAQ section for residents. People are advised to keep windows closed during the outage to retain heat.
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