Mpumalanga towns’ drinking water put to the test
Mpumalanga's drinking water meets the minimum standards and does not contain harmful bacteria. This according to AfriForum.
During 2021 AfriForum set out to test various towns across the province’s water to determine the quality of their drinking (blue drop status) and sewage water (green drop status).
The organisation’s district coordinator, Hennie Bekker, said it would test the quality of water continuously because residents have a constitutional right to clean drinking water.
The blue drop results show that all the towns in the province whose water was tested, is clean.
According to AfriForum’s green drop results, there were 12 sewage plants that do not meet the set microbiological standards. Among these plants were Mbombela, Dullstroom and Machadodorp.
The organisation said it was concerned about these results and will investigate the matter further and act where necessary.
This project focused on the quality of water after having gone through the sewage plants, and not necessarily the state of the plant itself.
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AfriForum said it requests annually that the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) make blue and green drop results known and welcomes the fact that the DWS said earlier this year it would compile a report again.
According to a statement by Silulumanzi, due to the recent heavy rainfall and turbulent river systems in Mbombela and surrounding areas, the treatment of water is becoming challenging.
“The Silulumanzi water treatment plants are experiencing extreme high levels of silt/sand and other debris from the rivers and hence we will be reducing production to treat water to an acceptable standard.
“We also make consumers aware that there may be slight discoloration in the final water received, but they can be assured that the water is not contaminated.”
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