While much of the country was wrapped up in newsabout swine flu, residents of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut spent the weekendwondering if their water might make them sick.
TheModi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut municipality announced Monday at noon that waterin the area was safe to drink, following news late Friday from theHealth Ministry that a water test had found contamination.
The contamination was found in a routine test at the MekorotNational Water Company facility outside the city, which provides waterto Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, Modi'in Illit and Yavne.
Because the news came after the beginning of Shabbat, municipalofficials sent messengers to post announcements outside synagogues, inaddition to automated phone calls to all the houses in the city.Approximately a quarter of the city's nearly 75,000 residents arereligious.
Residents were told to boil water before drinking itor using it to cook or to brush their teeth. The municipality's warningsaid no special medicine was needed and that anyone who experiencedstomach pain should consult their regular physician.
According to one resident, supermarkets ran out of mineralwater on Saturday as people rushed to make sure they would have cleanwater to drink.
"I thought [themunicipality] did very well," said Yossi Garr, who lives in Modi'inwith his wife and three children, of the response to the contamination."We daven [pray] in a school, and the fact that they knew to post a notice there is very impressive."
| More about: | Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, Modi'in Illit, Yavne |