Water manager declares Vryheid’s tap water safe

The latest water test results received at AbaQulusi Municipality indicates that the chemical composition of the tap water is in compliance with safe water standards, reports Vryheid Herald.

“This is a good indication that it is not the water that was making people sick,” said water manager, Nathi Mbongwa, who declared Vryheid’s tap water “safe for consumption” on Tuesday morning.

ALSO READ: Vryheid municipal water not safe for drinking, says KZN health

“We have adjusted the chlorine levels in the water to deal with the coliform bacteria that was detected, and will be testing the water again to ensure that this has also been effectively dealt with,” he said.

Last week, tests conclusively ruled out cholera as the reason for the outbreak.

Municipal manager Bonga Ntanzi said that a Joint Operations Committee (JOC) has met twice every day since the outbreak to determine if it is the water that was causing the outbreak of diarrhoea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps recently experienced in Vryheid.

“We have to push the hospital to determine exactly what the cause of the outbreak is. We may have been spending time and resources in the wrong place, so the team from the Health Department needs to focus on what else could have caused so many people to become sick,” said Ntanzi.

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