Study shows eThekwini water safe to drink
The tests were conducted by the Durban University of Technology's Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology (IWWT).
THE eThekwini Municipality said it was encouraged by recent results from independent water tests that confirmed the City’s water remains safe to drink.
The tests were conducted by the Durban University of Technology’s Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology (IWWT).
The IWWT sampled and tested water from 19 areas within the municipality, and water samples were collected on May 31 and June 1 in the northern, southern and western parts of Durban. Results indicated that no E. coli was present in any of the samples tested.
Samples were from areas that include Winklespruit, Chatsworth, Westville, KwaMashu, uMlazi and the Kennedy Road informal settlement.
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Director of the IWWT Professor Faizal Bux said the water tests were conducted in accordance with the standard protocol for microbiological water-quality analysis, as per the South African National Standard (SANS) 241.
“Samples obtained included tap water from households and one standpipe from an informal settlement. The areas tested had a consistent supply of water during the sampling period,” he said.
Bux added that they would be testing water every two months and sharing the information with the public.
The news comes after a recent cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal which claimed the lives of 23 people.
City spokesperson Lindiwe Khuzwayo said the municipality continues to assure residents that the water supplied to residents complies with the requirements of SANS 241 for drinking-water quality.
“The SANS 241 Drinking Water Specification states the minimum requirements for potable water to be considered safe for human consumption. Our potable water continues to be sampled weekly for quality testing by our dedicated team of scientists at our accredited inhouse state-of-the-art laboratory. Furthermore, we would also like to assure residents that the water delivered by our water tankers is from the same reservoirs that are tested at the same lab. The public is encouraged to always use trusted water sources and to practise good hand hygiene to prevent waterborne diseases,” she said.
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