NELSPRUIT – There is no shortage of reports in the local and national media regarding water-quality problems. Horrific accounts of worm-infested tap water and rotten smells abound. However, the recent outbreak of gastroenteritis that has many city residents on their knees, is not due to bacteria in the local water system, says Sembcorp Silulumanzi spokesman Mr Richmond Jele.
Sembcorp manages the water and waste-water treatment systems on behalf of Mbombela Local Municipality (MLM) for the city. Lowvelder approached it following rumours this week that the city’s water could be the cause of the ailment.
“We treat any allegation of contamination seriously and will investigate properly to ensure compliance. To date we have not come across any facts confirming sickness linked to the quality. In addition, our recent sampling and analysis results show full compliance. These can be made available if required,” Jele responded to media enquiries.
Sembcorp Silulumanzi utilises an early warning system on the raw, river water and monitors key parameters on a continuous basis at the treatment plant in town. “This safety plan is key to all our operations; from the river, where we abstract the raw fluid, inside the treatment plants, to all our reservoirs, and distribution network up to the tap inside the customer’s premises,” explained senior scientist, Ms Yolanda Oosthuizen.
Its on-site laboratory participates in the South African Bureau of Standard proficiency testing scheme for chemical and physical parameters and in the National Health Laboratory Scheme for microbiological parameters such as E coli. This constant monitoring has not indicated any bacteriological non-compliance. Water-quality results are uploaded on a monthly basis on the Department of Water Affairs’ website, which can be viewed by the public on the
My-Water web page, found at mywater.co.za. Sembcorp Silulumanzi has been awarded Platinum Blue Drop Status during the last published assessment of water quality and management systems.
Jele concluded that customers were urged to contact the call centre, anytime of the day or night if they had any suspicions about their tap water.
“We will deploy a dedicated team of to collect samples for immediate testing.”
Call centre share call number: 0861-74-58-58 or 013-752-6839 or 0861-SILULU.
