Unchlorinated water supplied by Tshwane’s Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works for three weeks resulted in at least 408 people, mostly toddlers under four, contracting gastrointestinal infections, reports IOL News, while a joint investigation found that the city failed to warn residents of the danger.
And in the Eastern Cape, contaminated water led to more than 100 Rhodes students contracting similar infections, subsequent investigations finding that cases were not just confined to the university but had affected the wider Makhanda community.
In the Bronkhorstspruit outbreak, cases were recorded between 7 and 18 October with laboratory findings pointing to contaminated water as the likely source.
The Department of Water and Sanitation and the City of Tshwane attributed the outbreak to issues with the local chlorine supplier – leading to the the plant supplying unchlorinated water from 24 September until 14 October.
They admitted the city failed to warn residents that the water had not been chlorinated and should not be drunk or used for cooking, washing or bathing, even after boiling. It said this was required under the 2025 Compulsory Standards for Water Services issued under the Water Services Act.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases detected norovirus, Campylobacter and Shigella in three of four stool specimens analysed, alongside other pathogens associated with stomach cramps and diarrhoea. No cholera bacteria were found in those stool samples.
Separate water tests on 14 October found extremely high levels of E. coli and total coliforms in water from the plant and the Ekandustria and Zithobeni reservoirs.
The plant draws from the Bronkhorstspruit River, which the investigation found was polluted by sewage from dysfunctional wastewater treatment works under Victor Khanye Municipality and dysfunctional Tshwane sewage pump stations.
Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya defended the city’s lack of communication, saying officials needed to work with other agencies to establish the cause before making a definitive announcement. However, she did say that those responsible would be held accountable.
She added that the city’s MMC for Health had communicated that diarrhoea cases were being reported, but officials were not yet in a position to confirm the cause. The investigation’s finding, however, concerned a separate issue: the failure to alert residents that the water had not been chlorinated.
The findings were discussed at an intergovernmental meeting on 18 October, where Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi were also present. The meeting received a consolidated report on cases, laboratory results, the investigation and urgent measures to protect communities.
The city closed the plant on 14 October, supplies were restored by 15 October, and the plant resumed supplying the distribution system on 16 October, but residents have been told the water is not yet safe to drink.
The city is distributing drinking water by tanker from the Cullinan Water Treatment Works; tests indicate that the supply is safe.
The investigation found that pumps, sand filters and other equipment at the plant were also not working. Tshwane is in the process of appointing Rand Water to help improve the plant, but there is no timeframe for when tap water will again be safe to drink.
The Water Research Commission began independent testing on 18 October, with initial results expected this week and a report on the causes due by 28 October.
The DA has opened a criminal case against the city at Pretoria Central police station.
DA Tshwane leader Cilliers Brink said the party wanted the city held accountable and demanded the immediate release of water-quality test results.
“Failing infrastructure has led to a public health crisis,” Brink said.
“This is gross mismanagement, carelessness that endangers the lives of people. The fact that these questions have been asked by us and then just fobbed off by the city shows criminal disregard for the standards that are set in legislation and just ordinary common decency.”
The crisis has raised concerns about the maintenance of local municipal water treatment systems, reports eNCA, with experts warning that reliance on a limited number of chlorine suppliers and rising costs pose operational risks for municipalities and water boards.
Although the Department of Water and Sanitation has resumed chlorinating the water supply, residents are still being warned against using the water for drinking, cleaning or washing purposes, with officials saying that untreated water may remain in reservoirs and pipelines that will need to be flushed before the supply can be considered safe.
More than 100 Rhodes students ill
Meanwhile, much further south, Eastern Cape Health authorities are investigating a cluster of similar gastrointestinal illnesses affecting more than 100 students at Rhodes University in Makhanda.
The facility had recorded an alarming cluster of gastrointestinal illnesses, with spokesperson Olwetu Gwanya telling IOL that subsequent inquiries with local medical practitioners had revealed similar cases elsewhere, suggesting the situation may extend beyond the university campus.
The institution was working with local public health authorities and environmental health practitioners to establish the possible cause and scope of the outbreak.
“Precautionary measures have been implemented on campus, including urgent water-quality testing at residences, the provision of safe drinking water in dining halls, and additional precautions in food preparation,” added Gwanya.
Reported cases were being monitored and medical support had been co-ordinated for affected students.
“Both staff and students are being urged to follow safe water, food-handling and hygiene practices both on and off campus. These include drinking boiled and cooled or bottled water, using safe water for food preparation and brushing teeth, avoiding ice and uncooked food washed in untreated water, and washing hands regularly with soap and water.”
IOL article – Unchlorinated Tshwane water linked to 408 illness cases (Open access)
eNCA article – Bronkhorstspruit water crisis: chlorine supply and costs under scrutiny (Open access)
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Tshwane alert after typhoid spike
Unsafe national water supply sparks fears of larger cholera spread
Unsafe water and sanitation to blame for 7 000 deaths in South Africa – WHO report