For at least a month, residents across large parts of Nelson Mandela Bay were forced to drink water that was unsafe and could cause chronic illnesses if consumed long-term.
According to a report, 119 out of 287 chemical samples analysed between July and August did not comply with the requirements of the South African National Standard for drinking water.
This means thousands of people unknowingly drank the unsafe water containing aluminium, manganese and bromodichloromethane, which after prolonged exposure causes cancer as well as skin and lung disease.
The shocking revelations are contained in a public health portfolio committee report that was discussed on Tuesday.
The report was tabled by public health executive director Sizwe Mvunelwa, who raised concerns about the quality of the city’s water, saying that it posed a health risk for residents.
Municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said a water quality management subcommittee had since been established to ensure a similar situation was avoided in future.
He said the ongoing drought had also affected the water quality and that bromodichlorimethane was a byproduct of chlorination of drinking water and occurred especially when there was a high organic content in the water.
“The drought has a direct effect on the decrease in the quality of drinking water.
“Some bacterial infections may be acute.
“However, there is an SoP [standard operating procedure] to correct non-compliant drinking water to safeguard human health,” Mniki said.
This is not the first time the city’s water quality has failed to meet the required standard.
In 2018, municipal bosses were at pains to explain why they had used low-quality chemicals to treat the water.
A health expert said the poor water quality had serious consequences as people might fall sick after drinking it.
In his report, Mvunelwa said it was clear from the samples taken between July and August that there was insufficient treatment of the water.
“It is also clear from the random samples taken when water left the treatment works to the reservoirs, that such water already had high readings of colour, aluminium, manganese and bromodichloromethane, which was an indication of insufficient water treatment.
“The risk associated with colour and manganese is aesthetic and that of aluminium, operational.
“[However], bromodichloromethane is classified as a health risk as it may have a chronic effect on human beings,” Mvunelwa wrote.
Bromodichloromethane is formed as a byproduct when chlorine is added to drinking water to kill bacteria while purifying it for consumption.
For several weeks during July and August, the drinking water in Rocklands township tested positive for E-coli, Coliforms and heterotrophic bacteria.
E-coli has been identified as one of the major causes for organisms in water and food-borne diseases and causes diarrhoea.
Mvunelwa also wrote that the laboratory equipment being used was non-functional, which resulted in certain chemical parameters not being analysed.
According to the Water Master Plan, a formal notice is meant to be written to the ward councillor to inform communities when water samples do not comply with the requirements of the national standard.
Mniki said this had been done.
The water from taps at the New Brighton Clinic, West End Community Clinic, Rosedale Clinic, Veeplaas Clinic, Lucky Luke creche in Tiryville, Schoenmakerskop village, as well as the Pieter Rademeyer Hall in Algoa Park, among others, tested positive for Coliforms and heterotrophic bacteria.
Reports to the municipality’s water and sanitation senior director, Barry Martin, written by scientific services deputy director Pumza Matyolo, outlined how several samples taken from the treatment works and analysed for physical, aesthetic, operational and chemical determinants were also non-compliant.
During the month under review, Matyolo reported that samples taken from Loerie, Elandsjagt and Grassridge had levels of colour, dibromochloromethane and bromodichloromethane which exceeded the specified limits and recommended constant monitoring.
Transnet port manager Rajesh Dana also wrote to the city on August 12 expressing his concern about the water his employees were exposed to.
In his letter addressed to Bay acting mayor Thsonono Buyeye and former acting city manager Noxolo Nqwazi, Dana raised the issue of the city’s drinking water quality.
“There have been failed attempts by the port [to] secure the meeting with the head of the directorate [public health].
“We confirm the port has received another drinking water report for water sampling undertaken in June 2020.
“It is to be noted that the water quality, as per water sampling results, remains non-compliant,” Dana wrote.
On Thursday, ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom said the city’s water was not good for consumption.
“This is shocking because it’s not the first time this has happened.
“Its’s been there for some time and nothing has been done about it.
“The two departments involved, public health as well as infrastructure and engineering, are not coming together and are working in silos.
“More needs to be done and the city needs to inform residents that the water is polluted,” Grootboom said.
DA councillor Leander Kruger said the repeated non-compliant water results were a serious concern.
“This points to the severe water infrastructure problems in the metro and an administration that does not take water safety and the safety of residents seriously.
“We need a comprehensive assessment of the safety of our water sources and a plan to ensure our water supply meets the required standards,” Kruger said.
Igazi Foundation chief executive Cole Cameron said SA, particularly the metro, was in a time when health was paramount.
“As a non-profit organisation fighting for the health of our cancer patients, the municipality is playing Russian roulette with people’s lives,” Cameron said.
Despite numerous WhatsApp messages, texts and repeated phone calls, Mniki failed to respond to questions on Sunday regarding whether the non-functional equipment had since been fixed and how the municipality intended to moderate the amount of chlorine added to purify drinking water, particularly, in light of the ongoing drought.
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