Thembisile Hani insists it's not receiving bulk water from E. coli-contaminated Bronkhorstspruit plant, but employees claim otherwise.
Residents of Westbury, south of Johannesburg, collect water from a tanker amid ongoing recent supply disruptions. Communities in Thembisile Hani local municipality in Mpumalanga are facing similar challenges as households continue to rely on water tankers for their daily needs. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
Thembisile Hani local municipality in Mpumalanga insists it is not receiving bulk water supply from the E. coli-contaminated Bronkhorstspruit waste water treatment plant in Tshwane, but employees claim this is not the case.
The municipality in the Nkangala region was listed among the areas affected by the breakdown of the plant.
Thembisile Hani municipality listed among areas affected
Between 7 and 18 October, 408 cases of gastrointestinal illness were reported among residents of Zithobeni, Bronkhorstspruit, Dark City, Rethabiseng and Sokhulumi, mostly children, after drinking water supplied by the plant.
Sources from Tshwane and Thembisile municipalities said Thembisile municipality was still receiving drinking water from the affected plant, contradicting a statement that supplies had stopped in October last year.
A Thembisile municipality water department technician said bulk water from Bronkhorstspruit was piped to the Thembalethu reservoir tower before being distributed to residents.
“Many people in Thembisile, in areas like KwaMhlanga, Moloto, Sun City, Thembalethu, Phola and Vezubuhle, rely on the E. coli-contaminated Bronkhorstspruit treatment plant. It is baffling why the municipality would say it was no longer supplied by the plant,” the employee said.
The City of Tshwane this week advised residents supplied by the Bronkhorstspruit waste water treatment plant that their tap water was not for consumption and must be used only for flushing toilets.
The municipality has since admitted that it did not chlorinate water from the plant between 24 September and 14 October, due to an unresolved issue with a chlorine supplier.
Tshwane warned residents against consuming contaminated water
Residents of the affected areas were told not to use the water to cook, prepare baby food, wash hands, brush teeth, bath, or wash fruit and vegetables; and boiling tap water at home did not make the water safe.
The metro offered residents drinking water through water tankers supplied by the Cullinan water treatment works while the advisory remains in place, with tankers tested to check water safety, providing at least 15l per person per day.
The metro listed Zithobeni, Rethabiseng, Ekandustria, Ekangala, Dark City and communities that receive water through the cross-border supply to Thembisile Hani.
Nurses at least three clinics in Thembisile Hani said there has been a slight increase in gastrointestinal cases, but that nothing alarming and could not be linked to the crisis.
“There has been a slight increase in cases in the past three months but nothing concerning as such cases are common in this area and the number do fluctuate. We definitely do see a high number of cases after heavy rain,” a nurse in Moloto said.
While Tshwane warning residents against consuming the contaminated water and arranging alternative supplies of clean drinking water, Thembisile Hani did not issue a public warning.
Thembisile Hani didn’t issue public warning
Earlier this week, the municipality released a statement informing residents that the municipality was not affected as it was no longer receiving water from the affected plant.
According to the statement, the municipality “continues to supply water from Rand Water, the Bundu waste water treatment plant and internal borehole schemes”.
Thembisile Hani municipal manager Dumisani Mahlangu said they learnt of the water quality challenges through media alerts issued by Tshwane metro.
But he said since 10 October last year, the City of Tshwane had not supplied water to the municipality.
“Therefore, the water quality challenge has not affected Thembisile Hani. As a general water quality principle, we conduct monthly water testing on our supply schemes, consistent with the South African National Standards 241,” he said.
This comes against the background of a long-running water crisis in Thembisile Hani, where the municipality has repeatedly accused Tshwane of failing to meet its contractual obligations.
Long-running water crisis in municipality
Last month, it was reported that Tshwane was required to supply the municipality with 16.6 megalitres of water a day, but was delivering about 350 000 litres daily, or 0.35ML.
Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo had attributed the shortfall to the Bronkhorstspruit water treatment works operating below capacity and experiencing frequent breakdowns.
Thembisile Hani residents have questioned why Tshwane would include them in the list of affected areas when this was not a case.
“This is a very serious issue and I hope the Thembisile municipality is being honest about us not receiving water from Tshwane. But then, I am worried because I do not think we were included in that list by mistake,” a resident, Jacob Skosana, said.
Skosana added he would believe the termination of the bulk water supply, only if it was confirmed by Tshwane.
Another resident, Johnson Mahlangu, said he had been suffering from gastrointestinal issues for over a year and that when he saw the alert from Tshwane listing Thembisile municipality as one of the affected areas, it made sense.
Resident suffered gastrointestinal illness for a year
“There are seven of us in this household and last week all of us had diarrhoea. If our water is not contaminated, then what is it that is making us sick?” he asked.
Tshwane municipality did not responded to a request to confirm if Thembisile Hani was receiving water from the affected Bronkhorstspruit plant or not.
Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya has since ordered an investigation into the failures that left residents exposed to contaminated water, pledging disciplinary action against officials found to have been negligent.
The investigation will look at how the interruption of chlorine supplies at the plant occurred, why residents were not warned in time that their drinking water was unsafe and whether procurement, operational and management failures contributed to the crisis.
Tshwane’s chief operations officer Vuyo Zitumane has been tasked with investigating procurement, operational and management processes.
The mayor also said they would cooperate with an independent investigation by the Water Research Commission.
Complaint lodged with public protector
EFF treasurer-general and Tshwane mayoral candidate Omphile Maotwe has lodged a complaint with the public protector, asking the office to investigate the Tshwane metro over the chlorine failure.
The DA opened a criminal case at the Pretoria central police station over the contaminated water issue, with the party’s mayoral candidate, Cilliers Brink, calling on Moya to release the full water quality test results and explain why residents had not been warned timeously.
