It was last Friday that water problems hit Borgafjäll in earnest, where lots of Easter holiday celebrants had come to see. Up on Lillfjället, cabin owners have been completely without water since last Thursday.
"They have been hit hardest by this," says Pierre Danielsson, Dorotea municipality.
Drains huge amounts of water every day
Dorotea municipality has been searching for leaks all weekend, without finding anything on the municipal water network. But now they have instead found leaks at two private cottage owners in Borgafjäll. Approximately 80,000 litres of water have flowed out there per property per day.
"We suspect that it looks similar for two or three other property owners.
During Easter, water tanks have been driven from Dorotea to Borgafjäll so that visitors have access to water. At present, the bill is up to SEK 600,000 – and this does not include the cost of water. Now the municipality wants the property owners who caused the leaks to foot the bill.
"I don't think they get upset. I assume that they have insurance on the properties and that it ends up with the insurance companies.
The other option would have been for everyone connected to the municipal waters of Dorotea to share the bill.
"Then we would have had to raise the tariff, and I don't think that would have been popular," says Pierre Danielsson.
The water network can be expanded in the future
Water problems still persist and the municipality continues to run water tanks for as long as needed. The municipality urges everyone to continue to be economical with water.
Isn't it that the capacity is not enough when there are so many tourists?
"No, we would have managed this if it weren't for the leaks. But in the future, when Borgafjäll expands, we will have to redo it. But it is a major cost that we would like to postpone," says Pierre Danielsson.