“The water is not for drinking, as the metro only provides running water from the municipality’s water system which is certified as safe for drinking,” said the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality’s (EMM) spokesperson, Mr Themba Gadebe. (Also read Tembisa water poses a health threat to community).
Mr Gadebe said the EMM is aware of the current blockages in the area, which have a negative impact on the Kaalspruit stream, affecting both the EMM and Joburg Water from Ivory Park.
“When the pollution is reported, the metro responds to the complaints within 48 hours, as per the service standards. In some cases, the standard is not met due to a number of challenges which are experienced when unblocking the reported sewer pipes,” he said.
“This is in cases when pipes are purposely blocked to harvest jewellery, rings and items of monitory value in the sewer. In such cases, the sewer pipe is blocked with packed stones, concrete and other heavy foreign objects. While the infrastructure requires attention, it must be noted that the main causes of sewer blockages are foreign objects that are dumped in the sewer system,” said Mr Gadebe.
