Despite at least 830 people having been affected by the contaminated water in Bronkhorstspruit, and having sought medical help for gastrointestinal problems, Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina insists there is no “outbreak”, reports Daily Maverick.
She said the situation cannot be classified as an outbreak without fatalities or critical cases.
And meanwhile, there is still no timeline on when piped tap water will be safe to drink, with communities complaining that water tanker supplies are erratic and unreliable.
So far, 833 people have been affected by the outbreak, with about 40% of patients being toddlers under four, after drinking water from the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Plant, which had been unchlorinated for weeks when supplies had run out.
Majodina said three patients were still in hospital but that none had been hospitalised for more than three days.
“Admission since 7 October to date has not exceeded … three days, meaning that people have not been very critical,” she argued.
“They came to the hospital because they were dehydrated, and after they’ve been hydrated, they go back home. I’m still firm that there’s no outbreak. There’s no death. There is no one who is critical.”
This week Majodina and Deputy President Paul Mashatile visited Bronkhorstspruit District Hospital in Tshwane, accompanied by other officials including Deputy Water and Sanitation Minister David Mahlobo and Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya.
Majodina said she was satisfied with the treatment of patients and that officials were working to prevent a recurrence of water contamination.
“There is no report that says they came back (to the hospital) for further treatment after they’d been released, meaning the matter is under control,” she insisted.
Mahlobo said the government was “co-ordinating its response”.
In the interim, 36 water tankers are supplying affected residents with clean water, but Majodina said this should not continue for more than two or three months because it was expensive and inconvenient for residents.
Officials said the aim was to resolve the issue as soon as possible but did not provide a clear timeline for when affected residents could expect safe, clean water to return to their taps.
Majodina also blamed the rising number of gastrointestinal cases on residents continuing to use stored water. She said that despite them being told that the water was contaminated and advising them not to use or drink it, some had ignored this, contributing to the spread of the illness.
She said private water tankers had been supplying residents, but officials could not confirm whether the water they provided was safe for consumption.
“Some people kept water for the longest time. Others are getting water from private tankers, using water that we don’t know where it was treated,” said Majodina.
Most water-related issues countrywide stemmed from ageing infrastructure and distribution challenges, she said, blaming some of the problems on water leaks, which contributed to significant water losses.
Mahlobo sought to distinguish between a water security crisis and what he described as a “municipal crisis”, arguing that numerous municipalities had been grappling with similar problems for some time.
Majodina said that some parts of Gauteng had excessive water consumption, particularly in Johannesburg and Tshwane, and that affluent neighbourhoods with swimming pools should face water cuts if lower-income areas were subject to them.
She acknowledged that some areas could run out of water if the problems were not addressed, and said officials needed to monitor leaks and reservoirs closely and that the City of Johannesburg and Rand Water were due to meet to discuss solutions.
She called for audits to identify infrastructure that needed to be decommissioned and for other water treatment plants to be inspected for faults. Illegal connections had put some metros under severe strain, she added.
Questions remain over accountability, safe water
Last Monday Moya had said the city’s performance was “indefensible” and admitted to municipal negligence after senior leadership was not informed in time about chlorine supply chain issues.
A plant manager had already been suspended, she said, and “anyone found to have been negligent in managing chlorine levels or communicating the contamination” would be held accountable, while internal and external investigations continued to establish responsibility and ensure the issue was resolved.
Majodina urged residents not to use tap water until the plant had been disinfected. For residents, however, the warnings have raised questions about how they are expected to manage their daily needs: they also described irregular deliveries, insufficient tankers and uncertainty about when they would next have access to water.
One said a municipal tanker regularly parked outside a nearby community facility, but those living in the surrounding area were not allowed to draw water from it.
“That truck, it’s for the multi-purpose centre,” said the resident. “Not for us as a community. It’s for the centre. We don’t get water. Nothing.”
The Public Prosecutor and the South African Human Rights Commission have been drawn into the contamination crisis, with formal complaints to the two having been lodged by the EFF against City of Tshwane Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya, reports IOL.
The complaints, submitted by EFF MP Omphile Maotwe, call for a comprehensive investigation into alleged maladministration, improper conduct and possible criminal negligence linked to the failure of the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works – in the wake of the gastro outbreak affecting more than 400 people between October 7 and 18, linked to contaminated water.
The Department of Water and Sanitation’s investigation also found that the municipality failed to warn residents that the water had not been chlorinated and was unsafe for domestic use.
The EFF has accused the municipality of failing to issue public health warnings during the 21-day period, despite the risks associated with supplying untreated water, and that the failure breached the Compulsory Standards for Water Services issued under the Water Services Act.
The EFF is demanding remedial action, including a comprehensive account from the city manager of the decisions and chemical procurement processes leading to the crisis, and wants immediate, independent water-quality testing to establish when tap water will be safe to drink.
Additionally, the party wants financial compensation for affected households to cover medical expenses and other losses resulting from the outbreak, and disciplinary proceedings for municipal officials found responsible, with the findings formally reported to the Tshwane City Council.
The EFF also wants contingency plans for water-treatment chemicals to be established across municipal facilities to prevent a similar crisis, and said that any findings pointing to criminal conduct should be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority for possible prosecution.
Out of supplies
The Department of Water and Sanitation found that water from the Treatment Works had not been chlorinated for three weeks because of problems with the city’s chlorine supplier.
The treatment plant draws water from the Bronkhorstspruit River, which investigators found was polluted by sewerage from dysfunctional wastewater treatment works in Victor Khanye Municipality and malfunctioning sewage pump stations operated by the City of Tshwane.
The municipality has pledged to improve communication with residents by providing regular updates on where and when safe drinking water is available.
The city has also indicated that it will investigate the chlorine supply interruption, the handling of the incident and the failure to alert residents timeously, with disciplinary action possible if negligence or misconduct is established.
IoL – EFF takes Tshwane mayor to Public Protector and SAHRC over Bronkhorstspruit water crisis
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