Question NW290 to the Minister of Water and Sanitation

Reply:

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has engaged the Sol Plaatjie Local Municipality on the matter and the municipality confirmed that at times the turbidity of treated water was elevated, but that there were no failures on bacteriological contamination as all E. coli results were within requirements.

The DWS officials conducted investigations at the Riverton WTW on 04 February 2021 and the following findings were reported:

a) Aged infrastructure on both the old and new plant and poor operations and maintenance of the works.

b) The old plant was non-operational due to chemical and chlorine pumps failure

c) The new plant has 48 sand filters in total with some sand filters out of operation; those that were operational were overloaded and full of scum due to pd) or operation and maintenance

d) From the on-site physical testing, the final turbidity count was ranging from 34.4, 18.08, 9.41 to 4.79 NTU

e) The bulk water network supply lines could be corroded or full of sand; with no routine cleaning of reservoirs; and no maintenance program for existing infrastructure.

f) No full chemical and bacteriological analysis of final treated water is available on the Blue Drop Information system.

On 21 February 2022 DWS directed the municipality, in terms of 53(1) of the NWA to:

a) In terms of the Water Services Act (Regulation relating to Compulsory National Standards, No. 5) to provide water services within its area of jurisdiction, ensuring compliance with the Compulsory National Standards for the Quality of Potable Drinking Water (DWAF, 1996), SANS 241 and subsequent updated versions.

b) Ensure all water supplied to a household is tested by the water service authority/provider, with the frequency of testing depending on the size of the community in accordance with SANS 241.

c) Establish a suitable programme for sampling the quality of drinking water; specify the sampling points, frequency and which substances will be tested for in the water; compare the results with SANS 241 and if such results indicate that the water poses a health risk - inform the DWS, the Department of Health, and consumers immediately; and

d) Ensure that all consumers are educated about water quality and its importance for human health.

Furthermore, in terms of Schedule 3(1)(2) of the NWA the municipality was directed to provide an action plan within five (5) working days including short- and long-term solutions with financial and human resource implications and assigned responsibilities on how the municipality will address all the areas of non-compliance identified above. The municipality is also expected to provide monthly reports (by the first working day of following month) indicating:

• Progress with implementation of actions,
• Operation and maintenance of treatment water,
• Storage and conveyance and the water quality test results to indicate ensure safe drinking water that meets the required standards

The response of the municipality with the action plan and implementation of the action plan is being monitored by the department of Water and Sanitation.

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