In the event of contamination of drinking water, there are two different scenarios (decision taken by the canton’s laboratory):
Scenario 1: the water can be sterilised by boiling it and may then be used as drinking water.
- The water must be boiled immediately.
- You must not drink tap water that has not been boiled and must not use it for taking medicines.
- You may use it to wash. Water that has not been boiled may not be used to wash people who are ill or infants.
- You must not use water that has not been boiled for making or preparing foodstuffs (e.g. for washing a salad or preparing baby bottles).
- You must not use water that has not been boiled to clean food containers (incl. milk tanks, pipes or milking systems etc.).
- You may use the water to flush the toilet.
Scenario 2: it is not possible to clean the water by boiling it.
- You must immediately stop using tap water.
- You must not drink tap water nor use it to take medications.
- You must not use tap water for washing.
- You must not use water that has not been boiled for making or preparing foodstuffs (e.g. for washing a salad or preparing baby bottles).
- You must not use water that has not been boiled for cleaning food containers.
- Find out where your municipality has set up emergency water supply points.
Drinking water is vital for human survival and in Switzerland, it’s the resource most monitored for cleanliness. However, drinking water may become contaminated, e.g. due to a broken pipe, pollutants or pathogens (e.g. E.coli bacteria).
If, in the event of damage, it is not possible to clean the water by boiling it, an emergency water supply will be organised in your municipality.
Your water comes from:
- Binningen: Industrielle Werke Basel (IWB)
- Biel-Benken, Bottmingen, Ettingen, Oberwil, Reinach and Therwil: Wasserwerk Reinach und Umgebung (WWR)
- Bättwil, Hofstetten-Flüh, Metzerlen-Mariastein, Rodersdorf and Witterswil: Wasserverbund Hinteres Leimental (WHL)