OR Tambo district municipal bosses have called in water quality experts in a bid to to find lasting solutions to the water crisis in Mthatha.
East London-based Lugaju Innovations, a water specialist company, is to run tests on the water in an attempt to improve its quality.
Recent rains have left the Mthatha River turbid with soil deposits and silt, according to the municipality.
Municipal manager Owen Hlazo said the district municipality now had to ration water provided to businesses and residents.
“We have invited specialists to come up with solutions. They are now on site running tests. They are working 24/7 trying to come up with solutions to the problem,” Hlazo said.
The Mthatha Dam has been the main water source for Mthatha since 2003.
This was the same year OR Tambo district municipality was appointed by cabinet as the water service authority and water services provider of five local municipalities, namely King Sabata Dalindyebo, Mhlontlo, Nyandeni, Ingquza Hill and Port St Johns.
On Friday, Hlazo said a leak was detected in one of the outlet pipelines from Mthatha Dam in 2016.
Two years later, the leak had expanded and the district authority had decided to suspend the use of the pipeline.
The problem was reported to the national department of water & sanitation, which promised to fix the pipeline.
OR Tambo municipality then extracted water from the Mthatha River to supplement their water distribution, but the recent rains had brought in the soil deposits and silt.
As a result, the municipality was now rationing water.
He said they expected the water supply to be back to normal on February 7.
Last month, the city experienced a similar problem. This led to the Thornhill water treatment works being closed.
Specialists brought in to improve Mthatha water quality
OR Tambo district municipal bosses have called in water quality experts in a bid to to find lasting solutions to the water crisis in Mthatha.
East London-based Lugaju Innovations, a water specialist company, is to run tests on the water in an attempt to improve its quality.
Recent rains have left the Mthatha River turbid with soil deposits and silt, according to the municipality.
Municipal manager Owen Hlazo said the district municipality now had to ration water provided to businesses and residents.
“We have invited specialists to come up with solutions. They are now on site running tests. They are working 24/7 trying to come up with solutions to the problem,” Hlazo said.
The Mthatha Dam has been the main water source for Mthatha since 2003.
This was the same year OR Tambo district municipality was appointed by cabinet as the water service authority and water services provider of five local municipalities, namely King Sabata Dalindyebo, Mhlontlo, Nyandeni, Ingquza Hill and Port St Johns.
On Friday, Hlazo said a leak was detected in one of the outlet pipelines from Mthatha Dam in 2016.
Two years later, the leak had expanded and the district authority had decided to suspend the use of the pipeline.
The problem was reported to the national department of water & sanitation, which promised to fix the pipeline.
OR Tambo municipality then extracted water from the Mthatha River to supplement their water distribution, but the recent rains had brought in the soil deposits and silt.
As a result, the municipality was now rationing water.
He said they expected the water supply to be back to normal on February 7.
Last month, the city experienced a similar problem. This led to the Thornhill water treatment works being closed.
Residents in court to force Makana to remedy crisis
Hlazo said the municipality tried using chemicals to purify the water but this had been unsuccessful, leading to the decision to secure the services of water specialists.
Bonga Zuma, a water specialist from Lugaju Innovations, said the water coming out of the reservoirs had been sufficiently treated so “as to not be harmful to the people who drink it.”
For some, however, it feels like too little and too late.
Eastern Cape Chamber of Business president Vuyisile Ntlabati slammed the water authority for failing to communicate the problem to people timeously.
“You can't make alternative plans. Water interruptions affect business big time. Salaries have to paid at the end of the month. Water is crucial to the success of many businesses.”
Andile Nontso, who runs a hospitality business, said guesthouses and B&Bs were losing out on a lot of trade.
“We have to turn people away because of this water problem. People now go to East London,” he said.
Mthatha Ratepayers and Residents Association spokesperson Madyibi Ngxekana accused the water authority of failing to heed advice about cutting water to the affected areas while the specialists were doing their tests.
“Yet they are interested in us paying for services that we don't get at the moment,” he said.
sikhon@dispatch.co.za
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