Giessen's drinking water is no longer chlorinated. As Stadtwerke Gießen AG (SWG) has already announced, the water has been bacteriologically flawless again for several days. Now, in agreement with the Giessen health authority, Stadtwerke Giessen AG will no longer be adding chlorine to the water from Wednesday, 10 June 2009.
"However, it is possible that our customers may still notice a slight odour of chlorine over the next few days. This is due to the fact that not all of the chlorinated water in the pipes has been used up," says Matthias Acker, deputy company spokesman for the municipal utilities.
Events of the last few days
The results of a routine test carried out on Thursday 21 May revealed that the drinking water was contaminated with E-coli bacteria. The entire Giessen water network was affected, with the exception of the districts of Lützellinden, Rödgen, Allendorf and individual streets in Kleinlinden. The Grünberg districts of Kernstadt, Göbelnrod, Queckborn and Harbach as well as the Fernwald district of Annerod were also affected. Due to the contamination, SWG immediately added chlorine to the water in consultation with the Giessen health authority and asked the population to boil the water. On 28 May, SWG was able to give the all-clear based on the sample results - boiling the water before use was no longer necessary.
Stadtwerke very much regrets the inconvenience for its customers and is pleased that the drinking water is once again available to Giessen residents in its purity and freshness straight from the tap.
Unfortunately, SWG cannot yet say anything about the cause of the contamination. It is not yet known how the bacteria got into the drinking water.