Extensive water leak in the Malmö area - the situation is stable but water conservation is encouraged

At half past four on Wednesday morning it started. An extensive water leak in a pipeline east of Malmö was discovered.

- It is a major accident, one of our main lines has sprung a leak, said Stefan Johnsson, safety and quality manager at Sydvatten.

The situation is stable

Around lunchtime on Wednesday, VA Syd announced that the situation was stable. The levels in the system are still not normal, but can now be used as usual for showering, washing dishes and washing, writes VA syd on its website.

Although the situation is stable, VA Syd still urges people to save water. It will take about a day before the levels are fully restored.

In Malmö, Svedala and Burlöv, the water may be discolored.

- It is not dangerous to drink, says Liselotte Stålhandske, head of distribution at VA Syd.

However, they urge people to hold off on washing clothes, as the discolored water can stain clothes.

Appealed to several municipalities

At most, around 400,000 people were affected in Malmö, Svedala and Burlövs municipality. VA Syd issued a strong warning not to shower, bathe or wash dishes.

The leak was already located during the morning, what takes time is to fill the system.

- We are currently filling up water in our system. It will take at least a day to fix, says Liselotte Stålhandske.

Main line damaged

The damaged line is now completely disconnected and water is instead diverted through alternative lines. Repairing the line will take several days, but it will not affect the capacity of the drinking water system in the meantime.

- We do not know exactly why it has happened, but we have no indications that there would be any sabotage behind it, says Stefan Johnsson at Sydvatten.