Smelly, hazardous, unfit for consumption and foul in taste and appearance.
These are some of the words residents in Temba, Hammanskraal, have used to describe the water coming out of their taps daily over the past 16 years.
Residents have battled to access clean and potable water for more than a decade, with two reports earlier this year deeming water in the area unfit for consumption and “contaminated with human waste and/or had a bad smell of chlorine or human waste” when it was available.
The former was among the findings made by the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) during a fact-finding visit to the Temba water purification plant and the Rooiwal waste water treatment works last month, where they were joined by Tshwane mayor Randall Williams and Phillip Nel, MMC for utility services and regional operations and coordination.
The latter was among the findings made by an independent commission of inquiry into the Hammanskraal water crisis and commissioned by ActionSA.
ActionSA was formed by former Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba, who quit three years into the job and resigned from the DA to set up his own party. ActionSA will contest the upcoming local government elections for the first time, with Mashaba running as the party’s Joburg mayoral candidate and Abel Tau running for Tshwane mayor.
Community members interviewed by the commission and Sunday Times Daily during a recent visit to the northern Tshwane township flagged the hazards associated with using the water.
Residents spoke of the damage the water has had on their health, with reported problems ranging from dental and skin issues to hospitalisation.
Sello Kekana, 39, is among those who recently fell ill after he was forced to drink the unsafe water, which the community had been warned against consuming.
According to Kekana, who has lived in Hammanskraal his entire life, the water usually delivered by water tankers ran out and, in a desperate move, he took a risk and drank from a tap.
Water tankers have been dispatched to distribute clean water to Hammanskraal residents on a regular basis, but residents complain they arrive sporadically, often passing by between a month and two months.
Residents told the independent commission and TimesLIVE the tanker drivers first dispatch water to friends and family and sell it to those with JoJo tanks.
“During the night I was thirsty and drank from the tap. I woke up feeling unwell. I had a runny tummy the entire day,” Kekana said.
So severe were his symptoms that he mulled going to a clinic for treatment.
A distressed Kekana detailed how challenging it was as someone with diabetes and asthma to live under such conditions. Additionally, his lack of employment means he, like many residents, was forced to rely on the water trucks.
Resident Thabang Sebotsane told TimesLIVE one of his biggest fears was that his young children would drink the contaminated water and fall sick.
“They don’t understand things as well as adults do, so one of the first things that creates a burden in my life is to police my children and make sure they don’t run the tap and put the water into their stomachs,” he said.
He described the daily challenge he and other residents face coping with the unfit water, which ranged from being brown with a foul smell to somewhat clear but cloudy with residue and an unpalatable smell.
“You wouldn’t give it to animals because of the kinds of things found in the water.
“If you go to different corners around our community you’ll find people who have been hospitalised, people whose dental health has been compromised, people who’ve suffered enormously because of the water,” he said.
An exasperated Sebotsane said not only was the water unfit to drink, but it cannot be used to do basic things like cooking or wash laundry.
This was echoed by Rachel Mokgoko, who said she used the water to clean her house and nothing else. She also highlighted the struggle to get clean water, saying residents either had to cough up money to buy water or rely on unstable water tanker provision.
We get sick and often have to go to the clinic, which refers us to the hospital where there’s Covid-19. It’s a serious water crisis. We don’t know who will help us because it’s been years.
— Hammanskraal resident Rachel Mokgoko
“We get sick and often have to go to the clinic, which refers us to the hospital where there’s Covid-19. It’s a serious water crisis. We don’t know who will help us because it’s been years.
“We don’t know if we’re drinking sewage or a different type of water,” she said.
Mokgoko and other residents interviewed said they felt let down by the City of Tshwane over its continued failure to resolve the issue.
They said it will be a difficult choice come election day because of all the failed promises.
The City of Tshwane and department of water and sanitation both told Sunday Times Daily there was the recurring issue of “brown and foul-smelling” water last month due to maintenance at the Temba treatment plant.
Nel said the issue was caused by problems with the granular activated carbon filtration and the ozone plant at the treatment plant.
“Both have since been repaired and water quality restored to how it was before the problem. However, it is critical to note the water was not potable before it turned brown and is still not potable.
“It will only be potable once further refurbishing and upgrading of the Rooiwal waste water treatment works is completed,” he said.
Water and sanitation spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said the department had been assessing the quality of the drinking water from the Temba water treatment works and the point of use, where “non-compliance on colour, taste and odour have been observed.
“Water treatment works upgrading has been completed. However, due to the quality of raw water received by the works, it is unable to treat water to required drinking water standards. It must be noted that all the parameters that pose a chronic health risk to human beings were compliant with SANS 241 [the South African National Standard 241 drinking water specification].
“The non-compliances are on aesthetic and operational risks. The water treatment works is operational, but the community of central Hammanskraal will continue to receive drinking water through water tankers until the quality of the water fully complies with drinking water standards.”
Responding to the issue of water tankers, the city confirmed the trucks “operate on a daily basis” and “are roaming”.
The city said it “has not received any official complaint regarding selling of water” and asked residents to report incidents.
“The city is clear to water tankers service providers that anyone caught selling water will be immediately removed and their contracts may be terminated. If residents are aware of such, we encourage them to notify the city at our regional offices,” Nel said.
Both the city and department gave an update on upgrades to the Rooiwal treatment plant, saying phase one of the planned refurbishment was at 58% and “is due for completion in May 2022”.
