In total, 25,000 inhabitants have been prohibited the consumption of tap water, contaminated by the bacteria “Escherichia coli”.
Le Monde with AFP
While Indre was placed in orange heat heat vigilance by Météo-France for the days of Friday 17 and Saturday 18 June, and the thermometer could climb up to 39 ° C in the shade in the department , 25,000 inhabitants of Châteauroux are deprived of tap water. In the north of the city, water is unfit for consumption after contamination by the bacteria Escherichia coli, announced Friday Châteauroux Metropolis .
Water consumption for food use (drink, food preparation, brushing of teeth) is now prohibited until at least on Sunday 6 p.m., she said. Infants should not be washed with this water either. Even boiled, water should not be consumed. But it can, once cooled, be used to clean fruits and vegetables.
The city has triggered its communal safeguard plan and set up, with the manager of the SAUR water network, a distribution of bottled water packs in four centers open to the general public. The mayor of Châteauroux, Gil Avérous, explained on Saturday on Franceinfo that” 125,000 bottles were distributed “Friday. In addition, the “vulnerable people” have been contacted and water bottles were delivered to establishments receiving the elderly, he stressed.
new analyzes scheduled for Sunday
Returning to the reasons for the contamination of water, Gil Avérous mentioned “a succession of anomalies”, which originates “a dysfunction of the chlorine diffusion system in the water [which] was Arrested at the start of the week “. “The alarm did not trigger, it took some time to be spotted, and we ended up with untreated water distributed, which allowed this bacteria to proliferate,” said the mayor.
The latter, however, wanted to be reassuring. “The latest analyzes are rather reassuring,” warned Gil Avérous, specifying that the bacteria “is in low presence in water”.
The results of a new analysis are expected on Sunday “at the latest around 6 pm”. The ban could be lifted after analyzes. Friday, at the beginning of the evening, no victim or hospitalization was reported, according to the city. Saturday, midday, “there was no resurgence of people who have encountered digestive problems,” said the mayor of the city.