Supplied for several days in bottled water, the inhabitants of the island of Groix (Morbihan) can again drink tap water. “The latest samples allow a return to normal” since Thursday evening and “tap water can therefore now be drunk as usual”, specified in a joint press release the Regional Health Agency and the prefecture.
Tap water was banned for consumption on the island of Groix on July 6 due to the presence of a group of chemical substances “above the defined quality limit”. An analysis carried out on the Créhal reservoir in Groix revealed that day the presence of trihalomethanes (THMs) above the quality limit defined by the Public Health Code. THMs are “residues from the chlorination of water formed mainly by a chemical reaction between chlorine and organic matter naturally present in surface waters”, explained the next day the health authorities.
Malicious act ruled out
It was “a one-time, sudden and unexpected phenomenon which is not linked to a possible problem of drought”, underlined Benjamin Richard, sanitary engineer at the ARS while ruling out a malicious act.
Since July 6, the island had been supplied with bottled water. Dozens of pallets of bottles were thus transported to the island of Groix by Compagnie Océane, which provides maritime links between the island and the mainland.