Driefontein residents are accusing Ilembe district municipality (IDM) of supplying them with unsafe water and have resorted to going back to drinking water from the local stream.
“The water from the tap tastes like it has too much lime and leaves you thirstier than you were before drinking it,” said resident Thabisile Nzuza.
Nzuza and her neighbours choose to walk close to 500 meters to t h e stream instead of a short distance to the tap. Her mother, Mamndaweni said she could not even make tea from the water from the taps.
Another resident, Busi Mpanza said the water spoiled the milk and failed to dissolve powdered milk.
“If you put fresh milk in it you end up with fermented milk floating over your tea and it is the same with powdered milk which remains undissolved no matter how much you stir or how hot your tea is,” said Mpanza.
These residents claimed they have to buy powder soap if they want to use tap water to wash their clothes because using bar soap did not dissolve in the water.
“Since we cannot use powdered soap to bath, we are forced to bathe using the water from the stream,” said Mpanza.
IDM’s communication manager, Zee Nqala, told the Courier that they were aware that the quality of potable water in Driefontein had been compromised as a result of the presence of a higher than normal amount of total dissolved solids and sulphate.
“The source of supply to the affected area is a borehole. The quality of water from boreholes frequently do not meet the specifications contained in the South African National Standards due to dissolved mineral salts from the soil,” said Nqala.
She said tests conducted had shown that the water, in its present form, was of a poor quality. This was the reason most residents were reluctant t o drink it. However it could be used for domestic purposes, such as washing of dishes and clothes.
“We are working with Umgeni Water to improve the quality of water by installing filters and Ilembe will soon deploy a tanker to supply residents drinkable water while we continue to monitor its quality,” concluded Nqala.
