Do not drink the water until further notice. That is the instruction from Buffalo City Metro mayor Xola Pakati to residents, because the metro does “not want to gamble with people’s lives”.
Pakati made the plea at East London’s city hall on Thursday after an urgent meeting to discuss the metro’s water-safety crisis.
Residents from across the city reported muddy water coming out of their taps, leaving many panicking about whether it is safe to drink.
Among the officials who attended the emergency meeting were deputy mayor Princess Faku, city manager Andile Sihlahla and the portfolio head for infrastructure services, Malibongwe Mfazwe.
People have been advised to boil the water that comes from metro taps.
This week, BCM residents took to social media, displaying pictures of the city’s muddy water.
Messages have also circulated via WhatsApp groups with schools raising questions about the safety of the city’s water.
Pakati could not say when the water quality would be restored.
“Our water has gone through the treatment process.
“However, I would appeal that our people give us time to deliver clean water to them.
“I would not guarantee the safety of water for consumption for now, given the situation we are experiencing.
“We really would not want to gamble with people’s lives.
“The safety of the water cannot be guaranteed. People should take the necessary precautions.”
Pakati said the city had approached a specialist who would advise officials on “how best to speedily resolve the matter”.
“The challenge we are having is a consequence of the flooding that we experienced.
“We have experienced turbidity, which is an unprecedented level of mud in the water.
“This turbidity has since found expression in our water reservoirs.
“As we treat the water and release the water from our treatment works to the reservoirs, we have experienced this problem of muddy water.
“Our pipes and reservoirs are muddy and they change the colour of the water,” Pakati said.
The mayor has tasked Sihlahla and CFO Ntsikelelo Sigcau to make funds available from the city’s “emergency funding” to source clean water.
Pakati said the raw water from the Bridle Drift Dam flowing to the Umzonyana Water Treatment Works in Scenery Park had been negatively affected by the recent flash floods.
“Because the system is taking longer to recover due to the high water demand, the city has had to consider the situation holistically,” he said.
“We would like to apologise to the residents of the city because this situation is beyond our control.
“We are considering a water-shedding schedule from 10pm to 4am so that we can beef up the reservoirs, in particular in high-lying areas.”
The water-shedding started on Wednesday night, but was temporarily suspended on Thursday to give the city time to issue a schedule for residents.
Water-shedding will resume on Friday.
Pakati also advised schools to be cautious of the city’s water.
The metro said it would provide water tankers in the interim to the most-affected areas.
These were Buffalo Flats, Vergenoeg, East Bank, higher parts of Beacon Bay, Nompumelelo, Ducats, Gonubie Main Road, higher parts of Amalinda, Mzamomhle, Queneira Drive, Beacon Bay Bishops Estate, Beacon Bay Motor Park and Nahoon Valley Park (Elfin Glen).
Unhappy residents took to the BCM Facebook page to voice their concerns.
“Instead of fixing the problem they were too busy worrying about people collecting rain water in tanks,” one user said.
“We want a speedy intervention; the water is terrible and our lives are at risk,” said another user.
A third said if the city had maintained its infrastructure and cleaned its stormwater drains, the flooding “would not have caused as much damage. Get real and face facts”.
Another user said: “Children are suffering at school; yesterday (Wednesday) my son came back because they couldn’t cook.
“Most people get sick because of dirty water and not everyone has money to buy water, so please fix the problem, mayor.”
Yet another user said: “Stop playing with people’s lives and actually earn the ridiculous amount of money you are paid. It must be nice to not worry about your drinking water because you can afford to buy bottled all the time.”
The city has also advertised a tender for bidders to supply and deliver chlorine to the city because SA has experienced shortages of the chemical, which is used to clean water at treatment works.
Provincial health spokesperson Yonela Dekeda said officials had not received reports from health facilities in the metro of people contracting water-related illnesses.
“However, as a precautionary measure we would advise residents to boil water before consumption,” Dekeda said.
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