White River residents to test water themselves

In an effort to ensure the town’s water is indeed safe for consumption, as the City of Mbombela’s (CoM) mayor, Sibongile Makushe-Mazibuko, claims, residents are sending in samples to an independent water lab to be tested.

Many of these tax-paying water users made it clear that the CoM cannot be trusted.

They claimed the municipality had apparently tested White River’s water, but did not share these results with them, and did not give a reason for doing so.

The residents also claimed the CoM only started testing the water when they first complained about the foul-smelling, brown tap water also infested with worms.

“At the time, the CoM’s spokesperson, Joseph Ngala, denied that the water contained any worms, and insisted that those who complained only wanted to put the municipality in a bad light. In the light of there being no guarantee that the water had indeed been tested, there could quite possibly be another reason why the results are not being shared with White River,” said some of the residents.

The White River Ratepayers & Residents Association’s (WRRA) chairperson, Johan Heymans, said the residents have been asking the municipality to share the results with them, but to no avail.

Now they are inclined to take R10 000 from their own pockets to have the water properly tested by an independent laboratory.

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The fact is that water quality in White River has deteriorated and is unsafe for consumption. It did not meet Blue Drop criteria in 2014 [75% at the time], and dropped to 27% in 2023, instead of being more than 95%, as per water quality compliance required by South African National Standards 241. We had our water tested by the CoM early this month, but until today, we have not received the results. That tells us something is wrong with our water, and we are certain that independently tested results will reveal what the municipality is hiding,” he said.

Heymans also dismissed Makushe-Mazibuko’s comment that the water was lab-tested in Mbombela and was deemed safe for consumption.

The mayor previously said she stays in White River as well and drinks the water herself.

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“The mayor was just playing cheap politics, because we are aware that she is not drinking the same water we are drinking. To prove this, we will ask her to drink it in public. The mayor stays in the White River Country Estates. They have their own multimillion-rand water treatment plant, managed by the estate. She is not drinking the same water White River residents do. We will give the mayor our water from the CoM-managed water treatment plant, and she must drink it in public. Why is she not pushing her office to release the results of our water tests and make it public?” Heymans asked.

He did not divulge what the ratepayers association was intending to do once the independent results have been received.

ALSO READ: Angry White River residents up in arms over water problems

In the meantime, the residents started a petition, ‘Oppose White River’s Disgusting Water Quality and Dilapidated Infrastructure’. It has already received more than 1 000 signatures.

Ngala said the water issues in White River are going to be attended to accordingly. He said the municipality is aware of the crisis and is dealing with it.