Nokia water use restricted after contamination scare
Residents of several areas in the town of Nokia are being advised to avoid using tap water for drinking or cooking if they detect an odd taste or odour in the water.
Environmental safety authorities have decided to extend the water usage restriction from the Kankaantaka area to several others, including Välimäki, Lehtimäki, the Kankaantaka industrial area, as well as Ilkka and Halimaa.
An odd smell and taste in the local water prompted the city officials to close the water station on Sunday and resort to using water from nearby Hämeenkyrö and Tampere. They also began flushing the local distribution system on Sunday.
Water flows again Monday
City authorities re-opened the water distribution system Monday as tests revealed a faulty pump to be the source of a strange odour.
But residents are advised to avoid using tap water for household purposes, particularly not for drinking or cooking.
A water distribution point has been set up for householders to collect potable water at Pajakatu 28A on Monday, and it will remain open until 10pm. It will also open on Tuesday between 6:30am and 10pm.
Another water distribution point is at Öljytie 2, which is open Monday from 3pm to 10pm and on Tuesday from 6:30am to 10pm.
A crisis in 2007
In 2007, more than 9,000 people fell ill when human error caused widespread contamination of the water distribution system in Nokia.
An operator was later found to have opened a valve that allowed waste water to enter the system.
The former employee received a seven-month suspended prison sentence and the city was ordered to pay compensation to those affected by the contamination.
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