Water is one of the hottest topics in eMalahleni lately. Social media is inundated with residents complaining about it.
And they have enough reason to complain.
Residents had enough of all the water problems in the city.
If the taps are not dry, then the water is a filthy brown colour.
To make matters worse some residents reported red worms in their water.
On December 22 the municipality explained that the water discoloration in December was due to the continuous increase of manganese concentration.
They said the reason for the failures were because of power failures and defects on critical plant components.
It must be noted however that the water purification plant is not designed for dissolved solids.
It is only designed for suspended solids and microbiological contaminants, hence the plant is currently under refurbishment and modification to improve manganese and iron removal efficiency.
“Currently, manual and labour intensive lime dosing operations shall be employed to boost the system such that it is able rise pH to a required level (above 8.5) for manganese oxidation to take place. The existing plant configuration is unable to effectively raise the pH level more especially when treating high manganese concentration. Commissioning of the silo system shall be a permanent solution in this regard,” was a note on their Facebook.
They committed that continuous water quality monitoring shall be conducted from the resource to the consumer to ensure effective risk monitoring.
But they have failed.
The worms that some residents found in their water was identified as being a larva from the order Diptera, an insect such as a chironomid (non-biting midges), which lay their eggs in a range of humid habitats. These larvae are also known as blood worms, because of the red colouring.
Because of the colour of the water residents can not do proper laundry and cooking, well no one wants to even drink water from the taps.
A Facebook post asking readers what they think of the water situation opened a floodgate of anger. The post were seen by 14 403 people and 114 comments were received.
WITBANK NEWS asked the municipality to confirm whether there are pressure release valves in the water pipes as air is pushed through the pipes instead of water.
This could be one of the main reasons why residents are complaining about unusually high water meter readings.
The municipality was asked why the reservoirs are not all full to capacity at the same time.
The municipality’s excuse for the ongoing water interruptions are that the reservoirs have to be isolated to give the other reservoirs chance to fill up.
The question about the brownish colour in the water and the red worms were raised.
By the time going to print there was no feedback from the municipality.
What our readers say:
Thabani Menziwa: Emalahleni municipality have failed us as the residents, water issue is a total mess. At the end of the day we are required to pay for the service not rendered.
Matotozane Ntombifuthi Moname: Water is an endangered species in Witbank …. We will have to go see it at the zoo or some nature reserve where the few survivors are kept.
Karen Adlem: Water is brown and it is frustrating, our white washing is brown and the baths are brown stripe. Witbank urgent needs help.
Water is brown and off for a few days then on, do not drink the water because it is always dirty and cannot even do washing because it stains your clothes.
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