LYDENBURG – Residents have with a peculiar foamy discharge coming from their taps, for the past few weeks.
Members of the public have had to resort to buying water to cook with. One, who asked to remain anonymous, told the newspaper that the water had a rotten smell.
“My children refuse to bath in it. The white linen I washed came out a discoloured yellow. It smells bad.”
Ms Alicia Pretorius who resides in Goud Street, told Steelburger/Lydenburg News that she got an infection from bathing in the brown broth. She confirmed the water stank.
According to Thaba Chweu Local Municipality’s (TCLM) spokesman,
Mr Puleng Mapheto, the water is safe and drinkable. “The discoloration was caused by the overflowing of the water purification plant, caused by the electricity outage last Saturday.
When the electricity was restored, it stirred all the soil that landed in the water-treatment plant. We urge the community not to panic as it will clear in no time. On behalf of the municipality we apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
The water is still brown and has not cleared in some areas. TCLM stated that they were in the process of treating the water before it was released.
Mapheto said the municipality was accelerating the replacement of the asbestos reticulation pipelines to eradicate losses and ensure reliable water supply. “Minimal maintenance or dirt gets into the reticulation system during maintenance works.”
