Fence cut: Contaminated water at another Bundeswehr site?

After discovering a cut fence at a drinking water reservoir in Mechernich in the Euskirchen district of North Rhine-Westphalia, the health department is warning against using the water. The German army base in Mechernich also gets its water from the reservoir, according to a statement on the city’s website. It will now be determined within the next few hours whether the water is contaminated or not.

The city announced that the drinking water could be contaminated to the point of being hazardous to health. This warning was also issued in light of the recent incidents at the German army base in Cologne, it said.

In Cologne, the Cologne-Wahn air force barracks were closed on Wednesday – there was initially unconfirmed suspicion that the water supply might have been sabotaged. A hole was discovered in a fence leading to the barracks’ waterworks, and the German army also reportedly found “abnormal water values” and initiated further investigations.

In Mechernich, tap water is not to be used for drinking, showering or preparing food until further notice. 10,000 people are affected by the warning, it was said. The Bundeswehr base in Mechernich and the towns of Strempt, Roggendorf, Breitenbenden, Weißenbrunnen and Denrath also get water from the water tank.

In the afternoon, a cut fence was discovered on the site of the city’s drinking water reservoir. “Due to unauthorized access to the drinking water system of the city of Mechernich, the drinking water may have been contaminated in a way that is hazardous to health,” the city said.