The water in your taps is clean and safe to drink.
This is according to Sembcorp Siza Water (SSW) managing director Shyam Misra, who said a rigorous quality monitoring system was in place to ensure that the water quality meets the most stringent standards.
Despite this, numerous restaurants in Ballito and Salt Rock are refusing to serve tap water, claiming that they are concerned that their patrons will fall ill due to to wide speculation over the quality of water from Hazelmere Dam.
Hazelmere Dam remains critically low at 29%, but Sembcorp Siza Water will soon be supplementing 40% of the daily usage of Sembcorp’s concession area with recycled water.
In a survey conducted in the first half of the year, 96 percent of about 3 000 SSW customers voted yes to this potential life-saver.
SSW has almost completed the expansion of their existing recycling facility, which was previously capable of supplying 500 000 to 750 000 litres a day, to a five million litres per day facility.
The recycled water has been available to customers for the filling of swimming pools, for construction purposes, firefighting and irrigation since December 2014.
Now however the water is to be utilized as drinking water and SSW assure us that this too is perfectly good drinking water.
“The quality of the reuse/recycled water has been tested and is in compliance with SANS 214:11 for potable water drinking standards,” stated Sembcorp in a press release.
Sembcorp estimates that the plant will be completed by November.
SSW has also successfully drilled and commissioned seven boreholes with “appropriate on site treatment, to ensure that water from the boreholes complies with the SANS 241:11, potable water standards”. They intend to commission additional boreholes to reduce the reliance on the Hazelmere supply.
Misra stressed that the quality of the water taken from boreholes was monitored rigorously “as most boreholes, if not all, provide water that is not safe for human consumption”.
There is strict regulation in terms of the National Water Act and other legislation regarding the drilling and consumption of water from boreholes. The company will be commissioning additional boreholes to further reduce the draw down from Hazelmere Dam as well as a further recycling plant in Shakaskraal.
“We thank all our customers who assisted in playing their role in saving water and would also like to encourage our customers to continue being water wise as the Hazelmere Dam remains critically low,”said Misra.
Misra also wished to thank the management and staff of Sembcorp Siza Water for their outstanding efforts and contribution made in managing the drought. As a result of these combined measures Sembcorp said they had achieved approximately a 35% reduction in water usage.
