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"Small Kiel" in green: burst pipe with curious consequences
Photo: Axel Heimken / dpa
Due to damage to a central district heating pipe, the heating failed in many Kiel households on Sunday.
Because the Stadtwerke Kiel had provided the district heating water with dye, steaming green puddles formed in the city area.
The "Kleine Kiel", a body of water in the city center, also shone bright green thanks to the dye.
The municipal utilities say there is no danger to the environment.
"The dye is harmless to health and water biology," said a spokesman for the "Kieler Nachrichten".
The cause of the leak is a burst pipe in Holtenauer Strasse in the Brunswick district of Kiel.
According to the report, thousands of households in the west and north of the city are said to have been affected by the failure at times.
Because of the leak, the municipal utilities initially warned of supply problems in the entire district heating area - a total of 73,500 apartments in Kiel are connected to the network.
Around noon, the municipal utilities were able to restore the supply for the rest of the city.
However, around 500 customers around the burst pipe in Holtenauer Strasse are initially without heat.
A spokesman said no information could yet be given about the expected duration of the failure.
"We continue to work under high pressure and ask for patience."
The municipal utilities had only added the dye to the water a few weeks ago so that leaks in the city could be detected more quickly.
"We have already temporarily colored our district heating water twice and achieved very good results," it was said at the time.
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