Gierle residents within 500 metres advised to avoid well water for now after raised PFAS readings
Lille municipality is sending more than 800 letters this week, and the precautionary measures are not compulsory.
A soil survey on Kloosterstraat in Gierle, part of the municipality of Lille, has found slightly elevated PFAS levels in the groundwater, the municipality announced on Monday. Residents within a radius of 500 metres will receive a letter between 9 and 12 November; according to Belga in DH, that concerns more than 800 people. No cause or specific measurements were given.
The Flemish Department of Care advises residents temporarily not to drink water from their own wells or cook with it, and not to use it for vegetable gardens or to fill a swimming pool. Well water can still be used to wash the car, flush the toilet or water ornamental plants. Using rainwater remains unproblematic.
Mayor Marleen Peeters (N-VA) says she understands the concern but asks people to see the results in context. These are so-called no-regret measures: residents are not obliged to follow them, although the authorities recommend doing so until further investigation maps the pollution more precisely. After that such measures usually lapse, sometimes with lasting advice for individual plots.