Bronkhorstspruit residents have been complaining about smelly discoloured water coming out of their taps for weeks. Several reports of residents, including schoolchildren, being hospitalised with stomach cramps have been received.

For more than two weeks, residents have been complaining about the water quality in areas such as Zithobeni, Riamar Park, Rethabiseng and Ekangala.

The Tshwane metro admits to the water being contaminated. It may have been a result of a leaking sewage reticulation system in the suburb of Vester Park as well as another one on Lanham Street.

A medical practitioner at the Bronkhorstspruit hospital told Pretoria Rekord that there were several cases where patients came in with stomach aches.

“We have had some cases where patients came in with stomach aches and they all claimed to have drunk the water,” says the staffer.

“I know one patient personally and he has insisted it’s the water.

“We are not certain if it’s the water. The doctors will have to run tests to see what exactly the causes of the stomach aches are.”

Community leader Kgaugelo Phiri told the newspaper that raw sewage from the reticulation systems have been leaking for more than two weeks, making its way into the water system.

“More than 30 people have been hospitalised, including schoolkids who were hospitalised on Friday because of the water,” he says.

“The water was smelly and dirty. You could see it from the tap. A lot of people got sick, there is something that everyone was consuming that made them sick.

“I spoke to a paramedic as well, he said they were attending to a lot of calls of people complaining of a stomach bug.”

Phiri says the metro’s water infrastructure in the town was crumbling and needed attention.

“The metro must get a competent contractor who will do maintenance where water is concerned

“They must also have a suitable team that will deal with drainage leakages around Bronkhorstspruit to improve the response time so that we don’t have to wait days for such services.”

The Tshwane metro says it is running more tests to get to the bottom of the matter.

Utility services MMC Daryl Johnston confirmed that the water, that some of the residents are receiving, was not safe to drink without being boiled.

Johnston says the metro collected samples from three areas and two of these were found to have microbiological contaminants.

“While the water tested in one area in Bronkhorstspruit town has come up clean, the two tests in Rethabiseng and Riamarpark have not,” he says.

“There is slight discolouration in the water as well as microbiological contaminants in the water that reaches residents.”

Johnston says during tests at the reservoir supplying water to the areas, as well as water being supplied from the treatment plant, were found to be clean.

“This demonstrates that there are no issues at the source of the supply,” he says.

“The contamination is probably occurring in the distribution network, which could have been caused by vandalism. This means that some of the water reaching residents is not safe to drink without being boiled first.”

He says the metro’s bulk water and wastewater department would conduct comprehensive flushing of the pipes using chemical decontamination to clean the distribution network.

This may increase the discolouration until the water is clear.

“We have prioritised the work to repair any vandalised and damaged sections of the network which may be the source of the contamination,” he said.

“This should clear the contaminants out of the pipes and restore the water to full potability.”

Johnston says water trucks would be provided to the Bronkhorstspruit community as of Tuesday.

“We will continue to monitor this situation closely and I will provide a further update when our restorative actions are complete,” he says.

“I apologise to the residents of Bronkhorstspruit and commit that we will ensure that this matter is resolved.”