First floods, now tainted drinking water

Tests reveal high levels of coliform bacteria after floods wreck sanitation infrastructure

IF YOU live in Phoenix, Inanda or Tongaat, there is a possibility that the water coming out of your taps has been contaminated and is not safe for drinking.

An investigation by the Sunday Tribune has found that while authorities have given the thumbs up for its consumption following last month’s floods that battered the province, including its water infrastructure, tap water in some northern areas contains coliforms.

Coliform bacteria are present in the digestive tracts of animals, including humans, and found in their faeces. The bacteria are also found in plant and soil material.

Six 500ml samples were collected from taps in homes in Greyville, Umlazi, Queensburgh, Inanda, Phoenix and Tongaat 10 days ago. They were analysed and tested at Setpoint Laboratory in Westville by Wearcheck condition monitoring specialists.

Wearcheck specialises in a range of condition monitoring techniques across many industries, including water processing. The company has 17 labs and offices worldwide.

Wearcheck’s findings reveal that samples from Tongaat, Inanda and Phoenix had total coliforms greater than 10 MPN (most probable number), which is the level recommended by the SA National Drinking Water Standard of 2015. The presence of coliforms in drinking water indicates that disease-causing pathogens may be present.

Their report states that a positive total coliform sample should be considered an indication of contamination.

Ratepayers in the affected areas are now worried, saying people are getting sick from drinking the water.

Theo Pillay, chairperson of the Woodview Ratepayers Association in Phoenix, said while the government should be working tirelessly to ensure that everyone had access to water, it also needed to make sure that the water was safe to drink.

“Already we are spending money on buying water. I don’t trust this water at all. People’s lives are at risk. We are ratepayers, but our service delivery is pathetic,” said Pillay.

Thembisa Dlamini, a member of the Ward 55 committee in Inanda, said she knew of people who became sick from the water.

Steven Naidoo, chairperson of the Tongaat Ratepayers Association, said they had been advising people to boil water before drinking it, if they couldn’t afford to buy water.

On Wednesday, the KZN Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) MEC, Sipho Hlomuka, expressed his concerns about the safety of drinking water.

In a virtual media briefing on the latest developments in the province after the floods, Hlomuka said that most water resources (rivers) in the ethekwini district have been found to have a significantly high percentage of contaminants (mainly E coli) due to raw sewage spillages after damage to water treatment works infrastructure.

Umgeni Water corporate stakeholder manager Shami Harichunder said their mandate was to supply large volumes of treated (potable) water to municipalities.

He said in terms of the Water Services Act, municipalities were Water Services Authorities, responsible for a supply of drinking water to the enduser, in this instance consumers.

“In this context, therefore, Umgeni Water does not supply potable water directly to consumers,” said Harichunder.

He said water quality monitoring is undertaken to rigorous specifications at the waterworks and points of handover to the relevant municipality, and in addition to daily monitoring of drinking water at the water treatment plants, supplementary monitoring is also undertaken, using a precautionary approach to evaluate and respond appropriately to any areas where possible additional risk may be identified.

Harichunder said municipalities were responsible for water quality monitoring in the distribution network, which includes the point of use by consumers.

He added: “The results of daily and weekly testing at all of the Umgeni Water waterworks and bulk water reservoirs supplying the greater ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality area (including Tongaat, Inanda and Phoenix) in the period of assessment – 01 April 2022 to 12 May 2022 - indicated that all coliform results were less than the required limit specified in SANS 241:2015 (10 coliforms per 100 ml), and no E coli were detected in any samples analysed.”

Harichunder said adequate disinfection using chlorine and chlorine-based compounds was undertaken to effectively kill micro-organisms during the water treatment process and ensure that safe drinking water was provided.

Harichunder concluded that the potable water supplied by Umgeni Water to its seven municipal customers conformed fully to drinking water quality standards. He said advanced treatment technologies and chemicals are used at Umgeni Water’s plants to treat raw water abstracted from rivers and dams so that safe drinking water is produced.

Meanwhile, the deputy mayor of ethekwini Municipality, Philani Mavundla, who also chairs the municipality’s Human Settlements and Infrastructure committee, admitted that 80% of the province’s sewer plants had been damaged by the floods and washed away.

“We have a sewer that is getting to the rivers where it shouldn’t be and we are following up with the relevant department to try and see what can be done,” said Mavundla, adding that they have not been made aware of any issues in terms of tap water, which has been tested for consumption.

Yesterday Mayisela Msawakhe, spokesperson for the municipality, reiterated their stance that the water was safe for consumption and that it was working with Umgeni Water to ensure that the public receives water of good quality.