Fire Near Elliðavatn Raises Water Protection Concerns

2026-02-23 - 09:15

Authorities are reviewing safeguards around Reykjavík’s drinking water sources after a wildfire burned near Elliðavatn on Wednesday, prompting concerns about how quickly contamination could occur under different conditions. As reported by RÚV, the fire began in the afternoon close to the lake, within the wider Heiðmörk area, and was brought under control later that night. The capital’s water supply was not affected. What's the Story? Wildfire near Elliðavatn in Heiðmörk, began last week Reykjavík’s drinking water supply not affected, according to Veitur Veitur working with the City of Reykjavík on zoning measures to strengthen protection of water sources Prevention measures urged Though the water supply remained untarnished, the power company Veitur stressed that the outcome might have been different had the wind shifted. Brynja Ragnarsdóttir, Director of Water Resources at Veitur, said the incident underlined the need for stronger preventative measures. “This event really shows us how little it takes to contaminate the capital region’s drinking water. It is so important that we are careful near our Water End Areas, where our water sources are. Traffic needs to be restricted and there must be no open flames near these areas,” she said on Morgunútvarpið on Rás 2. Veitur is currently working with the City of Reykjavík on zoning proposals intended to enhance protection of critical infrastructure. Brynja said prevention must complement existing contingency planning. “Of course, we have prepared contingency plans for such unexpected events, but we can’t just be reactive. We also have to consider prevention, and of course we can’t rely on luck when it comes to protecting our clean drinking water, and we are just putting a lot of emphasis on improving prevention in these areas in Heiðmörk.” She confirmed that firefighters took precautions during the response. “The fire department was very aware of being near a water-end zone and only used clean water to put out the fire. So our water sources escaped, they’re fine. We were very lucky yesterday.” Conditions across much of West Iceland have been particularly dry recently. Earlier this week, a separate wildfire began in Vatnsvík and spread towards Guðmundarlund and the Þingahverfi area of Kópavogur. Initially thought to be minor, the blaze escalated quickly, requiring all on-duty firefighters, with support from police and rescue teams.