Drought has growing impact: local residents left without tap water in Overijse
The first summer day of the season, yesterday, has triggered serious water supply problems in the municipality of Overijse. In fact, the water tap ran dry in Overijse centre and parts of Jezus-Eik. "Water consumption peaked, which eventually caused the shortage", the local water supplier 'De Watergroep' explains. A ban has been imposed on washing cars and watering the garden.
Late on Thursday, Overijse Mayor Inge Lenseclaes had launched an appeal to reduce tap water consumption. Water pressure was very low in some place because of the continuing drought. Various households were left without (or hardly any) tap water. "There were also problems in parts of Hoeilaart and Tervuren", she added.
The water supply company De Watergroep blamed "excessive water consumption": "We also had a small technical problem, but that didn't cause this problem", says Kathleen De Schepper. "We saw that water consumption yesterday was twice as big as normal. We hardly had any rain in the past weeks, which means that people's natural water tanks in the garden are empty. And then they switch to tap water."
De Watergroep calls on citizens to limit water consumption. "This is not the time to water your garden, wash your car or fill the children's pool." Because of the shortage, fire services are afraid they could be left without water during a possible intervention.