Burst water pipe in Hildesheim: lack of drinking water for thousands of households!

Burst water pipe in Hildesheim: lack of drinking water for thousands of households!

Today is a black day for the water supply in Hildesheim. On Monday morning, September 10, 2025, a serious water pipe burst occurred at around 4:30 a.m. at the Am Probsteihof/Steinbergstrasse intersection, affecting thousands of households in the districts of Achtum, Itzum, Ochtersum, Einum and Uppen. The water supplier EVI - Energiebedarf Hildesheim - estimates that the restrictions will last until next week, which represents an unpleasant situation for the affected citizens. NDR reports a partial closure of the affected roads as repair work is scheduled to begin on Thursday.

Water emergency in Hildesheim

The damage to the line is significant: several meters are damaged, meaning that a pit at least ten meters wide and five meters deep has to be dug. Trees have to be felled and a bus shelter has to be moved to make room for the repair work. Until the pipes are working properly again, residents must expect significant restrictions. Currently, 6,400 households in the districts are still affected, which keeps the situation very tense. Many have had to go without drinking water for several hours. The situation is particularly precarious because the heating systems in many households also failed. At a local council meeting, the real estate company LEG admitted mistakes that led to this unfortunate situation.

Alternative supply points

In order to help the people in the affected parts of the city, the EVI has set up drinking water collection points. These will be accessible from Monday evening in the following areas:

• Achtum: Ringstraße (auf Höhe der Feuerwehr)
• Itzum: Studentenwohnheim (Hansering 1b)
• Ochtersum: Hasenkamp (Höhe Nr. 22/Auf dem großen Platz)

The drinking water collection points are open daily from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and are operated by the Hildesheim fire department. Residents are asked to bring their own containers as ten liter buckets are in limited supply. Anyone who cannot look after themselves should contact the emergency services or the EVI control center. This means: Drinking water from the mobile tanker trucks must be boiled for at least three minutes before it can be used. However, a boiling requirement does not apply to water from the existing pipe network, although cloudiness can occur from time to time and is harmless.

Combating water scarcity

The situation is a reminder of the importance of safe management of drinking water supplies, an issue that is also being addressed by experts such as the Federal Environment Agency. In the context of the WHO guidelines, the Water Safety Plan (WSP) concept is recommended to identify and minimize risks in drinking water supplies Federal Environment Agency. This systematic management not only helps to ensure the quality of the water, but also to improve communications between those involved.

A small ray of hope is that no effects on drinking water quality from the existing pipe network are expected in Hildesheim. From the beginning of next week, the EVI plans to fully restore the water supply.

Citizens are now hoping that the problems will be resolved quickly so that they can soon live in their own four walls again without restrictions.