Effects of Water Main Break Noticeable in Water Quality in Amsterdam-Noord

Around 2:00 a.m. on the night from Saturday to Sunday, a Waternet wastewater pressure pipe ruptured near Schellingwoude. The rupture of this pipe, which had a diameter of metre , caused a large volume of sewage to flow into our area. In particular, the oxygen content in the water dropped sharply, resulting in fish deaths, among other things. 

How does this affect us?

We see grey water with brown/black flakes floating on the surface. These flakes come from the bottom of the ditches. Unfortunately, the declining oxygen level is causing increasing fish mortality; that, too, is visible. The water was already relatively warm, and warm water contains less oxygen. Rainwater cools the water down, but it contains no oxygen of its own. In addition, a faint sewage odor is detectable.

What are we doing about it?

To remove the contaminated water from our area as quickly as possible, it was decided on Sunday—in consultation with Rijkswaterstaat—to activate the De Poel pumping station near Monnickendam to divert the water via the Kadoelen pumping station to the North Sea Canal. By late afternoon, our staff on site observed that the flow was proceeding as planned, that the effects on the fish were visible, but that it would still take two to three days for the water to be discharged via the North Sea Canal.

In consultation with the municipality and Waternet, the recommendation is not to use the water. We are sampling the ditch water in Amsterdam Noord and the surrounding rural areas at various locations several times a day.

Adjusting the Approach Due to Precipitation

The rain that fell Sunday night and Monday morning meant that the De Poel pumping station had to be turned back on to prevent flooding. As a result, the sewage has been further diluted, but it is also being dispersed farther north (Zunderdorp, Ransdorp). We continue to monitor water quality by taking samples at various locations in the area.