Water crisis deepens in Hammanskraal
The water crisis in Hammanskraal deepened this week, with several areas experiencing shortages.
David Matsena
The water crisis in Hammanskraal deepened this week, with several areas experiencing shortages.
This came in the wake of revelations that residents were actually drinking contaminated water.
Tests by an independent lab, Aquadoc, revealed that the water supplied by the Tshwane metro to Hammanskraal contained, among other things, human or animal faeces .
The metro admitted in a statement this week, that “there is a water crisis in Hammankraal”, saying technicians were trying to fix the problem.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the Temba water treatment plant had been unable to supply water to Temba and surrounding areas due to maintenance to an Eskom transformer.
According to Mashigo, the maintenance work was anticipated to last a day or two.
He said Temba, Hammanskraal, Renstown, Babelegi, Ramotse, Marokolong, Sekampaneng, Stinkwater, Suumrman and New Eersterus were affected.
“The metro is undertaking critical repairs to the Babelegi reservoir pipeline. The water and sanitation department has arranged water tankers,” he said.
He said areas such as Babelegi industrial areas, Ramotse, Marakolong, Mandela Village, Steve Biko had also been affected.
Mashigo apologised for any inconvenience caused to residents.
Aquadoc released the results of water tests this week, which revealed that Ward 49 in Hammanskraal was supplied water with high levels of bacterial contamination including:
– Coliform which indicated the presence of rotting plant materials
– Faecal Coliform, which meant human or animal faeces were present
– E.coli, which meant there was sewage contamination
Aquadoc came to the conclusion that “water in Ward 49 is contaminated by sewage and needs to be treated for human and animal use”.
Mashigo said he needed to consult the relevant departments before responding to the findings and recommendations by Aquadoc.
Also read:
Hammanskraal pickets for clean water
Lives risked by contaminated water
DA to present findings of water tests to the metro
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 072 435 7717.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
- We have exciting news! We’re offering a free alert to help you always be in the loop. Send an email with the word ‘Subscribe’ to breakingnews@rekord.co.za to receive your free daily breaking news update.
