Story audio is generated using AI
Complaints from residents in certain areas of the metro about dirty, discoloured and bubbling tap water have intensified the scrutiny of Nelson Mandela Bay’s failing water infrastructure.
Councillors say the floods this year did not cause the crisis but exposed years of maintenance backlogs that had left treatment plants struggling to produce safe drinking water.
KwaNobuhle community activist Thamsanqa Nkevu said he was inundated with calls and messages from residents.
“Right now, the whole of KwaNobuhle is having water troubles and it looks as if the water is infected,” Nkevu said.
“The majority of us are complaining of bloated stomachs, runny stomachs and headaches.
“Even if you try to boil this water, it doesn’t get better.
“Instead, when you boil it the water gets foam at the top, similar to what you see when people and cows are urinating.
“It’s not just yellow but brown or ginger-like.
“It’s just making us sick and causing major concerns.
“We can’t drink it.
“We’re so fearful.”
Nkevu said this was causing not only a health risk to people but also an added economic burden because those who were already struggling were going to have to buy purified water.
He said this had been reported to the municipality but there seemed to be no sense of urgency to fix it.
“It can’t be that the city is unaware of the quality of water we’re drinking because it is their duty to check.”
Thandeka Fani, of Joe Modise in KwaNobuhle, said the water turned brown after the May floods, adding that even boiling it did not make it safe to drink.
“I can’t even wash laundry, let alone drink it.
“The situation is so bad that last week I came home from work and my children’s stomachs were aching.
“I’m scared to even wash my face with it because it’s so brown and has sand at the bottom if you pour it in a jug.”
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said boiling the water caused a layer of brown foam to form on the surface.
“It doesn’t smell. It is just a dirty brown colour.”
Asked if she had reported the issue to her ward councillor, the resident said she did not want to draw attention to herself, given that political parties were campaigning ahead of the elections.
Ward 43 councillor Mandlakazi Mabuda and Ward 47 councillor Lungile Longbooi said they had not received any complaints about water.
According to an infrastructure and engineering report tabled on Thursday, an estimated R117.48m is required to rehabilitate key water treatment plants to ensure they can reliably produce potable water.
This work is broken down as follows:
- R8m for the Churchill water treatment works (WTWs);
- R12.5m for Elandsjagt WTWs;
- R8.5m for the Loerie WTWs;
- R43m for the Nooitgedacht WTWs;
- R16.5m for the Kabah WTW; and
- R8.5m for the Linton WTW.
Additionally, R20.8m is needed to upgrade the Nooitgedacht high-lift pump station.
According to the report, the decade-long drought in the metro complicated efforts to fund maintenance as resources were diverted to drought mitigation initiatives.
A report presented by infrastructure and engineering acting executive director Joseph Tsatsire said the high turbidity levels recorded in the city’s dam catchment areas were primarily caused by an unusually intense rainfall event that dumped an average of 1,500mm of rain over four days.
Combined dam levels at the time were 33%.
“In most of the dam catchment areas, this heavy rainfall generated substantial runoff, carrying large quantities of sediment, including sand, silt, mud and organic matter into the dams.
“This natural sedimentation process significantly increased the turbidity, causing levels to rise from an average of 100NTU (nephelometric turbidity units) to 500NTU at some water treatment plants.”
Conventional water treatment plants are designed to operate efficiently under turbidity levels of 100-200NTU under normal conditions.
“This surge exceeded their design capacity,” the report said.
“Under these extraordinary conditions, with reduced efficiencies due to an existing backlog of maintenance, the water treatment plants were further compromised in their ability to treat water effectively.”
The report said high turbidity increased operational costs and, if not properly managed, could compromise the overall effectiveness of the city’s water treatment works.
“It is important to note that high turbidity in raw water, especially after heavy rainfall, will lead to reduced volumes of potable water being produced compared to normal water purification situations.”
At the Churchill, Elandsjagt and Loerie water tretment works, the NTU was recorded as high as 250NTU during the May floods.
At Nooitgedacht, the NTU was recorded to be 400NTU during the May floods.
“This, in turn, caused major operating constraints on the treatment works as additional backwashing and chemical dosing had to be carried out to ensure that potable water was produced to the national standard.”
On Thursday, Tsatsire said regular maintenance adjustments were needed at the treatment plants to improve their ability to manage high turbidity in future.
“All of these, you will see that they are now part of the budget for this financial year in terms of work,” he said.
“All the issues will be managed as part of the allocation that has been provided in this financial year.
“It’s several actions that you see, some range from 0 to six months and others 12 months.
“They will actually be implemented to at least improve the efficiency of treatment plants.”
Tsatsire said the procurement for mechanical and electrical contractors to address outstanding maintenance and upgrade equipment facilities was being concluded.
“We’re going to have a special deviation in the mechanical aspects of the treatment plant.
“We are in a bid-adjudicating level for mechanical rates and the electrical plan was advertised.
“We are hoping that by the second quarter we should have some of these resources available.
“In the meantime, we’re going to use the contractors that are currently appointed as a special deviation.”
DA councillor Dries van der Westhuyzen said the main cause of the city’s problems was a backlog of maintenance.
“Most of these items have nothing to do with floods but have been exacerbated by the effects of the floods, and the defects have been in our systems for a while,” Van der Westhuyzen said.
He said the city had borrowed money a few years ago and questioned whether some of those funds were still available to finance the projects.
DA councillor John Best questioned whether the metro’s prolonged water treatment plant shutdown, which caused reservoirs to run dry and left residents without water for days, was caused by a shortage of chlorine.
“There was a municipal press release to say it was the result of the fact that there was no chlorine.
“Is that a fact?
“This caused major disruptions for the metro.
“Was the fact that there was no chlorine?”
Tsatsire said there was R60m available from loan funding.
He said the city was accounting for the challenges experienced after the flood, conceding that the effects of the floods may have been exacerbated by the lack of maintenance of the treatment plants.
“Hence, there is emphasis to then put capital funding on the line items for treatment works for this financial year to improve the efficiencies of those treatment plants to ensure that at least they perform optimally going forward,” he said.
Tsatsire said chemicals were not the primary challenge at Nooitgedacht, high turbidity was.
Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world.
The Herald
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.