Rand Water rubbishes claims of ‘poisoned’ Vaal Dam water

Rand Water has rubbished claims that its water is unsafe to drink following reports that water from the Vaal Dam has been poisoned.

Voice messages circulating on social media have alleged that water from the Vaal Dam has been contaminated, supposedly by individuals attempting to sabotage the primary water supply.

The messages have caused panic, urging residents to buy bottled water.

Water is safe to drink

However, Rand Water has assured residents, including those in the Emfuleni Local Municipality, that the water meets quality standards for human consumption.

“Rand Water has noted voice notes that are circulating on social media platforms alleging that water in the Vaal area has been poisoned

“We would like to assure members of the public that the water it supplies to all its customers free of any contamination and complies to the South African National Standard (SANS| 241.

ALSO READ: Gauteng water crisis: ‘The crisis we sought to prevent has now materialised’

Rand Water has urged those in possession of such viral messages to refrain from spreading them as they cause “unnecessary panic and confusion.”

Warning

Meanwhile, the Vaal Dam’s water levels have taken another hit, dropping by 2% over the past week.

This comes after Minister of Water and Sanitation Pemmy Majodina and Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi urged municipalities to enforce level 2 water restrictions.

Majodina said the water supply challenges experienced across Gauteng are a result of municipalities’ failure to adequately maintain water infrastructure.

She warned that Johannesburg Water will be throttling distribution between 9pm and 4am from Thursday until the water system has fully recovered.

Paying for water

Lesufi said they want to bring in the law enforcement agencies to assist in reducing water consumption.

“The sooner we change the attitude the better and we don’t want to use a carrot and stick approach where so that we just have to switch off people so that they can realise  that they don’t have water, we really believe we need to invest in a high level communication programme.”

Lesufi warned that the province will introduce an indigent register to help them confront consumers who can afford to pay for services and protect those who cannot.

He said the register will be linked to all the municipalities in the province.

Vaal levels

The Vaal Dam, an essential part of the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS), recorded a capacity of approximately 31.5% of its full storage capacity (FSC) of 2.5 billion cubic metres, this week.

The Water and Sanitation department’s comparison showed that water levels at the Vaal Dam dropped  down from 33.1% the previous week compared to 72.8% last year.

ALSO READ: Vaal Dam levels drop 2% as Gauteng imposes level 2 water restrictions