The Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Plant was temporarily shut down in February, also due to poor water quality
The City of Tshwane on Sunday announced that the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Plant has been shut down because of poor water quality.
Poor water quality
The city blamed the recent heavy rains for the water having high turbidity levels. Turbidity refers to the cloudiness of water.
A high turbidity could mean above-average levels of silt, clay, organic matter, algae and bacteria in the water. It can also indicate the water is polluted with heavy metals and pathogens.
“Turbidity levels in the raw water are very high, which has negatively affected the treatment processes and makes it unsafe to continue normal treatment operations at this stage,” said the City of Tshwane.
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In addition to the poor water quality, the raw water pump at the treatment plant is also being stripped.
“This work is necessary to ensure that once raw water quality has stabilised, the plant is able to resume abstraction and treatment reliably and safely. Our technical teams are on site and are working to conclude these mechanical interventions as soon as conditions allow.”
Possibility of no water or low pressure in City of Tshwane
The city warned that the water levels in Tshwane’s reservoirs will have to be managed during the treatment plant’s shutdown. It said this could lead to low water pressure or no water in some areas.
“While the plant remains offline, the available storage in the Bronkhorstspruit/Zithobeni and Ekandustria reservoirs will continue to be carefully managed,” it said.
“Residents may, however, experience low water pressure and eventually no water in some areas if consumption remains high and storage levels drop faster than anticipated.”
The city added that the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Plant will only resume operations once the raw water quality improves and the work on the pump is complete.
Problematic water treatment plant
This isn’t the first time the treatment plant has been shut down this year.
In February, it was also taken offline after heavy rains affected the raw water quality. This left several areas without water.
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Then, in March, Bronkhorstspruit residents protested after going weeks without water. A pump breakdown at the treatment plant was blamed for that outage.
A few months later, maintenance work at the treatment plant led to water shortages in Bronkhorstspruit, Ekandustria, Ekangala, Rethabiseng, Riamarpark and Zithobeni for 11 days.
This week, DA spokesperson for utilities in Tshwane, Themba Fosi, said his party is concerned about the reliance of water tankers in Ekangala, which is supposed to get water from the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Plant.
Fosi said the community had no access to clean water after production at the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Plant was temporarily reduced.
He said the Department of Water Affairs’ blaming poor water quality after heavy rains points to a lack of water infrastructure maintenance and emergency preparedness.
“The DA will continue to monitor this situation closely and hold the department accountable until a sustainable solution is implemented… We are committed to ensuring that the residents of Ekangala receive the reliable water service they deserve,” said Fosi.
