The Drenthe water company WMD, together with the Holland Ukraine Foundation, supplies more than 76,000 liters of bottled drinking water to Ukraine to prevent waste. The water was stored in a depot in Norg.
The water company has stored bottled water in two locations for emergencies. The company supplies water from its storage facilities in Emmen-Compascuum and Norg to the entire country if drinking water is not available somewhere. The bottled water is approaching its expiration date, which means it can no longer be used in the Netherlands. The WMD looked for a solution to still be able to use the water and found it at the Holland Ukraine Foundation.
On Wednesday, they collected 150 pallets of 5-liter water bottles from the storage facility in Norg. To put things into perspective, an average Dutch person could last a year and a half with this stock.
The water stored in Norg can no longer be used in the Netherlands and is being replaced by a new batch of water bottles. WMD spokesperson Andries Ophof says that the company did not intend to throw away the water: “It would be a shame to waste the ‘old’ water.” For that reason, the water company made an appeal, after which the Holland Ukraine Foundation eventually came forward to transport the bottles to the east.
Dick Nijssen, chairman of the Holland Ukraine Foundation, says that the water will be brought to various places in Ukraine. The foundation has been bringing relief supplies to that country for more than thirty years. The drinking water has a shelf life of another six months and can be used in field hospitals, among others. The water can still be used here. “Abroad, less strict rules apply to the use of drinking water that is approaching its shelf life,” explains Nijssen.
Ukrainian drivers
The drinking water is brought to the Cherkasy province, south of Kiev, among other places. Another part of the water will be distributed to the rest of the country via the capital. According to Jos Langelaan, coordinator of the delivery of relief goods at the Holland Ukraine Foundation, the water is taken by Ukrainian drivers to their home country after they have delivered goods from Ukraine to the Netherlands. The Holland Foundation itself does not deliver relief supplies beyond the country’s border to Ukraine.
The trucks were loaded on Wednesday, after which they drove to Ukraine. According to Ophof, it is not yet possible to predict whether bottled water will be transported from the WMD to Ukraine more often.
