The results are in

Water from over 100 municipal districts was literally put under the microscope at an independent accredited laboratory in Pretoria. eMalahleni’s water samples were collected from the Riverview Sewerage treatment plant and tap water from several different locations in eMalahleni. The water was tested on the same day on February 24. Three weeks later Afriforum has released their results and 11 municipal branches have water flowing from the taps that is not safe for human consumption. It comes as no surprise to hear that eMalahleni in one of those 11.

Afriforum stated what they aim to achieve. “The project aimed to evaluate water quality in municipalities to ensure that quality complied with national standards, in order to promote the sustainability and conservation of this critical resource.”

The blue drop and green drop evaluations that were done by the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) in 2012 is an extensive and thorough evaluation of all the systems that ultimately bring water to our homes and take sewerage away. The quality of the water itself is only a part of the standards a municipality must meet to earn the blue and green drop status.  The AfriForum project only tested water quality of tap water and treated sewerage water that is being released back into the rivers.

The results show that the tap water has a high concentration of “organic carbon” which is organic matter that is dissolved in the water. This is a broad term that could describe many things. The often-overlooked potted water deals with treated sewerage water. Out of sight and out of mind is the general attitude, but it can have an even greater impact on our health and environment, than the quality of our tap water. The results show that the treated water does not meet national standards to be released back into the rivers.

The report issued by AfriForum quotes the DWA several times on their findings in 2012 after conducting the blue and green drop evaluations. “The DWA Green Drop report indicated out of 821 Waste Water Treatment Works, 40 were in excellent condition, 78 in good condition and the rest were average to poor, of which 317 plants were in critical condition,” mentioned the report by Afriforum.

On a national level only 98 municipalities were awarded Blue drop status. Our neighbour Middelburg was one of the towns benefiting from clean water, but eMalahleni was not. According to the DWA 14 municipalities were flagged especially bad water. eMalahleni made that list.

Although these results do show that our water is still not technically safe to drink, a number of improvements have happened since the evaluations by the DWA. The reservoirs were completely cleaned several days before the tests were taken on February 24. Many people have reported clearer water in the weeks since the maintenance was done. Regent Waters sponsored an overhaul of the water treatment plant in Woltemade Street in 2012 as well.

The goal for Afriforum is to inform the community of the situation and if all else fails, take these municipalities to court with the facts that clean water is a constitutional right for everyone.