Munnerstadt water continue to boil
After it became known on tuesday afternoon that the last sample of munnerstad drinking water contained enterococci, the city reacted immediately. On the one hand, the population was informed via the media, loudspeaker announcements and flyers that the water must be boiled, on the other hand, the pipes were massively coiled. In the meantime, further samples have been taken at various locations in accordance with the requirements of the health authorities. However, it will take a few days before the results are available. Until revoked, the water should be boiled in all parts of the city except windheim and seubrigshsausen.
Last friday the sample was taken, the result came on tuesday. The first priority was to inform the public. Radio, facebook and the daily newspaper were switched on, all city councillors and local spokespersons were informed by mail. "At the same time, we printed 3500 handbills and handed them over to the building yard employees,says the city’s chief executive officer, stefan bierdimpfl. These have distributed the slips of paper. In reichenbach, grobwenkheim and munnerstadt’s karlsberg, the respective fire departments did the job. By telephone all old people’s homes, kindergarten, the thorax center, maria bildhausen, butchers, bakers and the catering trade were informed.
"At 18.At 30 p.M., a meeting of the commanders was held to discuss the further course of action", says stefan bierdimpfl. After that, the firefighters drove through the streets of the city center and the affected neighborhoods to inform the residents about the boil order by loudspeaker announcement. "It went off without a hitch", head of operations robert muller praises the cooperation of the participating fire departments. With the loudspeaker announcements, the firefighters fulfilled a requirement of the public health department. The commander of the munnerstadt fire brigade emphasizes that it was the intention to drive through the streets only in the evening, it makes little sense to do this in the afternoon, when half the population is not at home. Until 21. 30 o’clock they were on the road.
Another requirement of the health department was to take more samples, which has now also been done. "It may take four to five days before we have results," she says, says stefan bierdimpfl. Only if several samples were negative, the health department will lift the boiling ban, he says. The population will then be informed immediately.
It is completely unclear to the employees of the administration and the building yard how the enterococci could get into the drinking water. There is no room for maneuver, the value must be zero. Exactly this value was found during a check on 15. July also achieved, as in all the years before. At a routine check three weeks later, the value was suddenly 2, which led to the boil order. That means that two bacteria were found in every 100 milliliters of water. "The routine checks will be carried out depending on the amount of water – but at least quarterly", says jurgen metz of the district office bad kissingen. What happened in the three weeks is a complete mystery. Because the munnerstadt water supply has a modern UV system that destroys just such bacteria. As water master bernhard rob assures, a failure of the uv system is not a possible cause, because in this case the pumps would not have been running at all. You are faced with a riddle. Now there is only one thing to do: the bacteria must get out of the water again. "You can get rid of the bacteria, for example, by winding the pipes", says jurgen metz. The city of munnerstadt is currently checking its equipment and facilities for leaks and the like to find the cause.
On tuesday, the pipes were massively rewound in order to get fresh water into the high reservoirs, which now – as everyone involved hopes – is free of enterococci again. But the result is still pending. Although there are always problems with water in bavaria, there have not been any in munnerstadt in recent decades, and jurgen metz from the district office confirms that such contamination is extremely rare. The people of bad kissingen, who are also supplied with water from munnerstadt (other wells), need not worry. "The water for bad kissingen is not affected – only munnerstadt", the district office says.
For the time being, the only thing left for the people of munich is to boil the water, also for brushing teeth, and the coffee, because the coffee machines do not reach the boiling point. There is no reason to panic. "People should not make themselves crazy", advises the munnerstadt physician dr. Gertrud kuchler. She simply compares the current situation in munnerstadt with that in southern countries, where you are not supposed to drink the water straight from the tap. She advises people who normally do this to make tea instead.
Enterococci normally live in the intestines of humans, which is why wastewater must have entered the drinking water in some way, says the doctor. There are different types of bacteria in the intestine and if there is an imbalance, diarrhea can occur. "There is no danger of this happening." However, people whose immune system is severely weakened, small children and senior citizens should be careful. Dr. Gertrud kuchler has seen on the internet that enterococci are also blamed for urinary tract infections and even heart problems, but normally they only get into the intestines, she says, where they can do nothing but cause diarrhea, she says. For them to reach the urinary tract or even the blood, other factors had to be added. Dr. Gertrud kuchler advises boiling the water until the all-clear is given. Then she will also recommend to her patients that they take their medication with tap water again. The mursch water is not so good for washing machines, but it is very good for the body, she says.