The outbreak had affected drinking water quality in Soinaste, Ülenurme, and Tõrvandi, all areas just to the south of Tartu city, but with some question marks over Ülenurme, after imposing the water boiling recommendation just over a month ago, the Health Board has now lifted this advice.

The recommendation to boil tap water then let it cool before drinking also remains in place in some schools: The Tõrvandi and Soinaste kindergartens and the Tõrvandi school, as pipelines and water systems there need additional work to make them safe.

While water samples taken in late May also indicated contamination at the Variku school, within Tartu city limits, subsequent samples have been found to be safe, and the board is ending its water testing there.
Water supplier Tartu Veevärk is also conducting its own inspection work of local pipes and systems, and intends to set up better monitoring work practices, regulations and best practices going forward.

Agne Allas, head of the procedural group at the Health Board's southern regional department, said that investigations in Ülenurme are still ongoing, however.

"We are still clarifying this and dealing with local issues, but in general the boiling recommendation has been lifted, and the water should be safe to drink. Our recommendation to people who have filter systems in their households is to service them at this time. If the water was contaminated, there may still be some residue, which could cause further issues within the home," Allas told "Aktuaalne kaamera."

Tartu Veevärk director Toomas Kapp said: "Because part of the network is older, we will certainly be reviewing all possible interface points. One of the lessons from this crisis has been that chlorination capabilities must be installed in all isolated areas, so that if there is any future disturbance in quality of water, we can apply chlorine very quickly."

In late April, isolated samples of E. coli bacteria were detected in Soinaste, Ülenurme, and Tõrvandi, all areas just to the south of Tartu city, with the Health Board issuing its boiling before drinking recommendation in early May. The potential cause of the contamination was found to be from sewage.

Most of Estonia's water supply outside of Tallinn is municipality run. An outbreak of e.coli contamination was found in the water supply in Kuressaare, Saaremaa's capital, in 2023.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook, Bluesky and X and never miss an update!