Hamina stores face bottled water rush following boil-water advisory in Finland

In Kymenlaakso, stores in the Hamina area are rapidly stocking up on bottled water following a boil-water advisory issued by Hamina Water. On Thursday, the company alerted approximately 19,000 customers about the presence of coliform bacteria in the tap water, resulting in an explosive demand for bottled water.

“The demand was so high that we sold enough bottled water within an hour to last a week,” said Ville Meronen, the owner of Hamina’s K-Supermarket Kanuuna. The boil-water advisory is expected to remain in effect at least until next Monday, according to Hamina Water’s CEO, Olli Sorvari. Health authorities will not lift the advisory until they can confirm that any new water samples are safe.

To ensure access to water for critical facilities such as hospitals and schools, the city has initiated additional water distribution this morning. The contamination is not believed to have been caused by vandalism, with CEO Sorvari suggesting that surface water may have entered the municipal water supply.

On Thursday, supplies of bottled water quickly ran out at K-Supermarket Kanuuna, but Meronen reports that more has been ordered to arrive by Friday morning. The first batch included around 400 five-liter bottles, but challenges are anticipated for weekend deliveries due to the holiday.

Among customers, Rauno Nopanen shared his experience of returning to the store to purchase water for himself and a neighbor, as all available water had sold out the previous evening. Customers have been advised to boil their drinking and cooking water for 5 to 10 minutes before use. Chlorination of the water supply began on Thursday afternoon, which may result in a chlorine smell, although the water can still be used for bathing and cooking once boiled.