The fire brigade in Noord-Holland Noord is temporarily no longer cooperating with the organization of water activities. Surface water is usually used for this, and its quality is deteriorating due to the persistent drought. To save drinking water, water from fire hydrants is no longer made available.
Fire chief Petra Abma regrets that the measure is necessary: ”With tropical temperatures, the water festivals attract many people and we can count on a lot of enthusiastic reactions. It is a wonderful calling card for the fire service and we are doing the youth a great favor with it! In recent weeks, several fire teams have been involved in fun water festivities to entertain (mainly) children.”
But there is now a 225 millimeters of precipitation deficit. The water board and the fire brigade no longer consider recreational use of surface water to be responsible. Moreover, it is expected that the precipitation deficit will only increase further in the coming weeks. “This entails health risks because of, for example, blue-green algae or botulism. We do not want to run any risk of contamination of humans and animals.” (photo: NHN fire brigade)