Lines Flush required!

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Drinking water pipes in Switzerland must be flushed every 72 hours at the latest. This is stated in the Drinking, Bathing and Shower Water Ordinance (TBDV) from 2017. The reason: if pipes are not flushed every 72 hours, a bacterial film can form in them. These bacteria can cause disease.

This is not a problem in office and residential buildings because the lines are used regularly there. It becomes more difficult with buildings that are not permanently occupied – for example in the approximately 2,300 civil protection institutions in Switzerland.

The 72 hour rule

At the beginning of this year, the Federal Bureau of Civil Protection (Babs) sent a leaflet to the cantons on how to implement the regulation in public buildings that are used irregularly. This now presents logistical challenges for communities and civil protection organizations. Because they would have to flush the water pipes of all 2,300 systems every three days.

If this is not possible, signs “No drinking water” should be placed on the taps. Many communities seem to choose this option. Because regularly flushing all systems is “simply too great a logistical effort”. This is what various communities and civil protection organizations say when asked by Blick.

Just shift the problems

However, the “no drinking water” symbols in the shelters only prevent someone from becoming ill through direct consumption of contaminated drinking water. But that is not enough. Because the impurities in the lines of a building can also “grow back” in the public lines. As a result, the drinking water pipes of entire neighborhoods can be full of bacteria. To prevent this, irregularly flushed pipes should be sealed.

The same applies to the lines in holiday apartments. Here the owners are responsible for regularly flushing or shutting off the pipe. Drinking water expert Matthias Mend (62) says: “The owners have a duty, but are often unaware of it due to a lack of training. A fact that always surprises me.”

Countless dirty lines in Switzerland?

It can therefore be assumed that there are a large number of potentially contaminated pipes throughout Switzerland. These pose a potential threat to our drinking water supply. Diseases such as legionellosis (legionnaire’s disease) are already on the rise in Switzerland.

According to the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO), it is not possible to say whether the increase in this disease is really related to the deterioration of our drinking water. The fact is that last year residents of certain neighborhoods in Zug and Lucerne had to boil their water because it was contaminated with bacteria.

Climate change will exacerbate the problem. At higher temperatures, bacteria and contaminants find an increasingly better breeding ground in our pipes.

Source:Blick