No more brown water from T3 taps

Food and beverage retailers at Changi Airport Terminal 3 (T3) yesterday found no traces of the light brown water that flowed out of their taps on Thursday afternoon.

Retailers halted sales of drinks and other food items for about two hours on Thursday when they discovered light brown water flowing out of their taps at around 3pm.

As a safety precaution, the Changi Airport Group (CAG) advised tenants not to use tap water for food and beverage preparations or washing.

By 5pm, the water was clear again but most operators continued to refrain from selling soups and drinks.

CAG distributed bottled water to affected food outlets, employees and airport visitors. Bottled water was also left by the sinks in toilets.

National water agency PUB sent a water tanker to the terminal at 7pm on CAG's request for temporary water supply. Water was also conveyed from other terminals for use by the affected tenants.

When The Straits Times visited T3 at lunchtime yesterday, businesses were back to normal, and water from the taps in the toilets was also running clear.

Businesses interviewed said they were only slightly affected by the incident on Thursday.

Employees at Heavenly Wang cafe on the first floor said that they used the bottled water provided to make coffee and tea, as well as other dishes, on Thursday.

Yesterday morning, PUB declared the water "safe for consumption" following water quality checks.

It said the quality of the incoming water supply from the mains to T3 was found to be satisfactory also.

Joint investigations by CAG and PUB yesterday showed that a pipe diversion operation by a CAG contractor at Changi Airport on Thursday resulted in water turning cloudy in one of the water tanks at T3.

With the aid of PUB officers, CAG cleaned the affected water tank and flushed the internal service pipes.

isaacneo@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on January 31, 2015.
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