Drinking water

There can be various reasons why there is no (clean) drinking water. Such as a break in a water pipe or works. But a digital incident or cyber-attack may also potentially affect the supply of drinking water.

Think ahead

• Make sure you have bottled spring water in your home for at least 48 hours.
• Allow for 3 litres per person per day. 
• Also make sure you have enough water for animals in and around your home.
• Store these bottles in a cool and dark place.
• You can keep tap water in a clean bottle in the fridge for a maximum of two to three days. 
• Make sure you have a clean bucket, empty bottles or a jerry can at home from where you can tap emergency drinking water at various places in your area (3 litres per person per day). 

No water from the tap?

• First check whether the main tap is open or closed. This is usually located in the meter cupboard or else in the crawl space of the house, near the water meter.
• Check with neighbours whether they have no water either.
• The website www.waterstoring.nl (information in Dutch only) contains an up-to-date overview of malfunctions and answers to frequently asked questions. Here you can also report a malfunction yourself.

Government actions

The government and water companies have emergency plans ready.

• If no drinking water comes out of the tap for more than 24 hours, water companies supply emergency drinking water to customers.
• This is done with mobile water tanks with taps at various locations.
• Up-to-date information can be found on www.government.nl, on the website of your drinking water company and security region, or via the local radio or TV station.
• If tap water does not meet quality standards, you will receive an NL-alert advising you to first boil the tap water for 3 minutes.
• Drinking water companies must take security measures so that the supply of (clean) drinking water is not at risk in the event of a digital disruption.