Alert issued over pending hot water shortage in Reykjanes peninsula
Úlfar Lúðvíksson, chief of police for Suðurnes by the Grindavíkurvegur road, but lava has already crossed the road and is heading towards the hot water pipes serving Reykjanesbær. mbl.is/Kristinn Magnússon
The National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police, in agreement with the Chief of the Police in Suðurnes, has declared the public protection level at risk of a hotwater shortage on the Reykjanes peninsula. This is stated in an announcement from the Directorate.
It states that the Civil Protection Department asks the public to give the response parties room in the work that is currently being done on the ground.
Ask residents to wait starting electrical heating
Public protection officials also ask residents in Suðurnes to wait as long as possible to use electric heating. Residents and the professional community are also asked to lower their house-based heating systems and not use hot water to bathe in showers, bathtubs or hot tubs.
Message from HS Veitur to residents
Furthermore, they refer to the message on the HS Veitur website to residents in Reykjanes peninsula:
“The flow of lava is now moving toward a plumbing hug that transports hot water from Svartsengi power station to Fitjar in Reykjanesbær. If the flow of lava passes over the hub, it looks like the scenario is that no hot water will flow from Svartsengi, resulting in a hot water shortage in Reykjanes, Suðurnes, Grindavík and Vogar. As the flow rate is currently, this could happen in the next few hours.
In response to such events, a new hot-water pipe is being constructed in the ground in this area. A section of about 500 meters long has been constructed, where the plan is to connect in case the old plumbing hub is destroyed, but it may take some days to get the new pipes operational.”
