The City of Tshwane on Saturday declared tap water in Hammanskraal safe to drink after residents were warned on Thursday not to drink it due to contamination resulting from problems at the Klipdrift Magalies Water Package Plant.
An urgent meeting was convened by the deputy minister of water and sanitation, David Mahlobo, Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya, and Magalies Water to resolve the problem.
The meeting discovered that there had been a water supply interruption, which led to temporary turbidity in the drinking water in Hammanskraal.
“The meeting confirmed that the water is now safe to drink. It was agreed that officials from the city and Magalies Water would meet weekly to ensure proper coordination and timeous and clear communication to the public regarding any water supply disruptions,” the metro said.
The Tshwane municipality reported that electricity supply at Magalies Water’s Klipdrift Water Treatment was interrupted by a severe storm last week and that affected the mini-substation, which provides electricity to the water treatment works.
The damage to the mini-substation required that a new mini-substation be procured, installed and commissioned.
The metro said power had been restored and the plant was restarted immediately after repairs were completed earlier in the month.
“As a result of the downtime of the water treatment plant caused by the damage to the electricity substation, the reservoirs and reticulation system were empty and dry for a considerable amount of time,” said the metro.
The metro listed Mandela Village, Marokolong, Ramotse, Kekana Gardens, Babelegi Industrial, Kudube Unit 9, and Bridge informal settlement as affected areas with poor quality tap water.
In addition, water restoration took time as the metro and Magalies Water conducted testing and flushing of the system to get air out of the supply pipelines.
“Water quality in the system is monitored continuously. On February 11, it was found that there was some turbidity in the water, which could have been caused by settled sediments as a result of the system having been dry for a period of time. All other parameters (apart from turbidity) complied with the SANS 241: 2015 drinking water quality standard.
“Subsequent tests and further flushing of the distribution system were conducted on February 13, and the results indicated that there was no non-compliance on any water quality parameters. The water in the system continues to be compliant to SANS 241:2015 and safe for human consumption,” said the metro.
Magalies Water’s staff and its highly advanced science laboratory would continue to monitor water quality for safe consumption.
“Both the City of Tshwane and Magalies Water, supported by the Department of Water and Sanitation, will continue to take samples and assessing water quality in Hammanskraal, and the city will continue to provide updates to residents accordingly,” said the Tshwane municipality.
The Star