With just days to go before the metro declares the holiday season open and welcomes visitors to the city, the Buffalo City Metro on Wednesday issued an urgent alert for residents in East London and Mdantsane to boil their tap water before drinking it.
The warning came after the Umzonyana Water Treatment Works was forced offline following cable theft.
The outage disrupted filtration and chlorination processes at the plant, raising concerns about the safety of the water flowing into homes.
BCM spokesperson Bongani Fuzile said electricity to the water treatment plant had been restored and plant restart procedures were under way.
Blocked sand filters meant backwashing needed to be done over 12 hours to restore treatment capacity.
“Water production will gradually increase during this period, but reservoir levels and water pressures across the system are expected to remain low until tomorrow [Thursday].”
Fuzile did not answer questions on when the cable theft was detected, what level of risk the outage posed to residents, when water testing results would be available and if BCM would publish these, or what measures the municipality was taking to ensure residents were protected.
There was also no answer on what was being done to safeguard facilities to prevent future cable theft at critical infrastructure.
Border-Kei Chamber of Business CEO Lizelle Maurice said the metro could not afford having contaminated water and would lose tourism revenue.
“We cannot have the same problem as Durban where they lost tourists due to high levels of E. coli in their water. BCM should act fast.”
Kevin Harris, spokesperson for public interest group Green Ripple, said: “Green Ripple is astounded by the lack of security at this key infrastructure that poses such a risk to hundreds of thousands of residents.
“Clean water is a fundamental human right enshrined in our constitution.”
The filtration breakdown could also lead to environmental damage.
“We as humans form part of the environment. The other grave concern is the now increased demand for bought water all in plastic containers that pose an environmental risk.”
It is unfortunate BCM does not take precautions against these things. They should have a backup plan.
— Satish Nair
Green Ripple also believed the fact that water testing results were not made public was an infringement of people’s right to information, and their right to a clean and safe environment.
Satish Nair, a member of the Kennaway Building’s body corporate, said water and electricity were vital to the hospitality industry.
“We do not expect our guests to be told that municipal water is not consumable as we would lose clientele.
“It is unfortunate BCM does not take precautions against these things. They should have a backup plan.”
DA caucus leader Sue Bentley said the metro needed to adopt a tougher stance on infrastructure-related crime.
“Action needs to be taken for all cases of electricity and infrastructure theft in the metro, with the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment for offenders who tamper with, damage or destroy electricity infrastructure.”
Bentley said every successful conviction should be publicised as a deterrent, and communities should be empowered through a toll-free reporting line.
“BCM also needs communities to take some responsibility for looking after their infrastructure.
“All our infrastructure is vulnerable. The DA called for a security risk analysis of all BCM infrastructure and buildings in 2015/2016, and to date council has still not received that analysis.”
Bentley said millions had been lost due to theft and vandalism, diverting funds from essential service delivery.
The municipality could have prevented this level of disruption if previous recommendations had been actioned.
She recommended a toll-free tamper hotline and a fully resourced revenue protection unit capable of rapid response.
Bentley was also frustrated at how slowly the city communicated to residents in a crisis.
“Unbelievably, they never inform councillors directly, yet it is councillors who can disseminate information quickly.”
The metro should provide updates every six hours during disruptions of this scale.
Residents had raised concerns about slow bacterial testing timelines.
Bentley said the delays reflected deeper capacity problems.
“The post of microbiology technician is vacant, and the workload exceeds the ability of the one analyst, especially since overtime is not allowed.”
Bentley also criticised the municipality’s budget priorities.
“Funding for such a critical post should be prioritised over non-essential spending like Christmas sponsorships or the overspend on the Ebuhlanti upgrade.”
While some residents had complained about tanker shortages and delayed communication of the “boil water” notice, Bentley pointed out alerts could not be issued recklessly.
She said physically protecting the entire electrical network was impossible due to its size.
“The electricity network cannot all be guarded, it is too vast. The revenue protection unit must be properly resourced in manpower and tools.”
Bentley said Buffalo City’s water system lacked resilience due to old infrastructure and vandalism.
“Frequent pipe bursts are a symptom of inadequate maintenance and poor budget prioritisation.”
She warned vandalism and theft would continue unchecked as long as some individuals benefited financially from tanker tenders and emergency repair overtime.
For Bentley, the Umzonyana incident was a glaring warning.
“Not enough is being done to curb theft and vandalism. Until the metro prioritises maintenance, security and essential staffing, these crises will continue.”
Beacon Bay Ratepayers’ Association chair Scott Roebert agreed communication of the issue had been less than expected for such a potentially catastrophic health issue.
“The water coming out the taps has been discoloured which has raised concerns, without clarity on what the issue really is.
“All communities are affected. There has been no direct communication with the association at all.”
Roebert said the trading of copper should be made illegal and anyone in possession of it should face the full might of the law.
“Many people benefit from cable theft and a holistic approach needs to be designed, implemented and managed to deter such costly vandalism.
“Security is a reactive approach that should be the last resort if a proper mitigating process is implemented.”
Eastern Cape Parks Tourism Agency CEO Vuyani Dayimani said the disruption and environmental impact were huge concerns.
He hoped the metro along with national regulators such as environment, forestry and fisheries as well as the water and sanitation department would quickly resolve the matter.
Visitors should make sure to follow advice and adhere to safety protocols.
Daily Dispatch
