Tap water appears cloudy in thousands of Espoo homes

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Thousands of households in the southern city of Espoo experienced an unpleasant surprise yesterday when their tap water appeared dirty.
      Water quality disturbances affected in excess of 60,000 people in the Leppävaara, Lintuvaara, Kilo, Karakallio, Viherlaakso, and Laaksolahti districts.
     
The problems originated from a water pipe that was broken on late Tuesday night. The breakage took place in Mäkkylä in the southern end of the street Kutsuntatie. The leaking pipe was isolated from the network quickly, but pressure fluctuations continued throughout Wednesday.
      “The pressure oscillation detached deposits from the walls of the pipes. This is why the water was cloudy and the pressure weak”, said network chief Pentti Janhunen of Espoo Water, a municipal enterprise managing the city’s drinking water and wastewater facilities.
     
Despite its cloudy look, the water remained perfectly drinkable. Janhunen confirmed in the evening that the water would be clear by Thursday morning.
      The overnight water pipe breakage did not significantly affect the water distribution. The detriment was primarily aesthetic. The damage was repaired by 7 pm on Wednesday.
      Espoo Water is looking into the cause of the leakage.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Contaminated water crisis continues in Nokia (7.12.2007)
  Nokia water crisis eases (10.12.2007)

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