Pretoria - The Republican Conference of Tshwane has disputed the City of Tshwane’s statement that water in Bronkhorstspruit and surrounding areas is good for human consumption.
This comes after MMC for Utilities and Regional Operations Daryl Johnston’s oversight visit to Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works last week.
Following the visit, Johnston said: “The City ran tests on the water at the reservoir and the water being provided from our treatment plant. The results showed that the water from these supply sources is potable.”
He, however, expressed concern regarding the quality of water tested at various points in the water distribution network, saying it indicated that damage to the network was causing the problems.
But the Republican Conference’s sole councillor in Tshwane, Lex Middelberg, accused Johnston of not telling the truth that the water was potable or safe for drinking.
“While calling it water challenges, the MMC insisted that the water supplied by the City had been tested and by implication (at all material times) been found to be safe for human consumption.
This is contradicted by the assertion that the problems had been caused by damage to the network in effect by leaks from water pipes that had been fixed by his department,” Middelberg said.
He said that the water “is turbid and smells foul”.
He claimed that residents were “falling ill and in many cases hospitalised with gastrointestinal infections, diarrhoea and severe dehydration”.
“Doctors warn patients not to use the City’s water.
“But poor people do not have the luxury to live off bottled water – and most of the people in the area are poor,” he said.
According to him, the report submitted by the MMC’s department to the utilities oversight committee meeting on April 22 confirmed that the quality of water supply has deteriorated in the last year and it is now the worst of any water supplied by the city to residents.
Middelberg said Johnston’s media statement was “misleading” and “intended to avoid an admission to a legal liability”.
“His frantic but futile attempts at cleaning up scrubbing and scouring reservoirs that had been cleaned 14 years ago is more tampering with a crime scene than an honest execution of municipal mandate,” he said.
Johnston said: “The Water and Sanitation Department performed chemical cleaning of the two Zithobeni reservoirs as well as a third reservoir on-site at the water treatment works.
This necessitated a water shutdown over the past two Sundays in order to ensure that good water quality is maintained in the area.”
He said the teams have also repaired several identified leaks throughout the distribution network to try to prevent possible future problems.
“We are also kick-starting the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works upgrade project with a R1 million budget allocation in the upcoming 2022/23 financial year to begin the technical design work.
This project should help improve the reliability of the plant,” he said.
Pretoria News