Pipe break brings Leuna to a standstill: over 5,000 without drinking water!

Pipe break brings Leuna to a standstill: over 5,000 without drinking water!

The water pipe break in the city of Leuna has caused great inconvenience for some districts. On Wednesday, July 23, 2025, numerous households, including daycare centers, businesses and a hotel, were without drinking water for hours. The cause was a pipe break that occurred in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, around 9 p.m., as the Midewa water supply company in Central Germany announced mbH. According to MDR, more than 5,000 people were affected in the affected towns of Günthersdorf, Horburg-Masslau, Kötschlitz, Rodden.

Despite the initially planned restoration of the water supply until 5 a.m., it turned out that this was not possible in time. Fortunately, the Nova shopping center in Günthersdorf was able to supply itself through its own drinking water memory for the time being, while the other towns were dependent on quick solutions. In the late Wednesday evening, however, the Midewa was able to provide the all -clear for the affected areas: the drinking water supply was restored. Nevertheless, clouding or brown coloring of the water can occur, as the company announced.

repair measures and information

Technical director Thomas Civeyrac said that the repair work took several hours. In the meantime, a provisional management between Witschersdorf (ZWA) and Pissen (Midewa) was set up to ensure the supply. For questions, those affected can contact Midewa on 03496 3088-0 or the ZWA at 03462/5425-35. In this context, the importance of an effective risk management in drinking water supply is also pointed out in order to better avoid such incidents in the future.

Risk management not only includes technical processes, but also the continuous review and optimization of security of supply. This is regulated by DIN EN 15975-2, which provides guidelines for risk-based management in drinking water supply. The DVGW supports water suppliers in overcoming operating blindness and identifying weaknesses in the system. This procedure should not only increase operational safety, but also improve communication with the public and the supervisory authorities.

The current events in Leuna once again make it clear how important a robust infrastructure and proactive management are in water supply. It remains to be hoped that the teachings will be drawn from this incident and that such interruptions will occur less frequently in the future.