The municipality has denied reports that Grahamstown’s tap water is unsafe to drink. Municipal spokesperson Thandy Matebese said “the water is very safe. It has been proven; I drink it myself ”.
The municipality has denied reports that Grahamstown’s tap water is unsafe to drink. Municipal spokesperson Thandy Matebese said “the water is very safe. It has been proven; I drink it myself ”.
Despite these reassurances, independent researchers at Impec, Grahamstown’s ostrich product exporters, have conducted tests over the last two years and found that chlorine levels in the local water have been erratic and at times fall below the level which keeps our drinking water bacteria-free.
A small amount of bacteria is always present in our drinking water but providing there is enough chlorine to keep it in control it does us no harm, according to the South African Water Research Commission.However, if chlorine levels drop below the standard, the amount of bacteria will increase and drinking it could lead to illness and disease.
According to the World Health Organisation, contaminated drinking water is one of the biggest causes of diarrhoea which kills 2.2 million people globally each year, mostly children in developing countries like South Africa.
In the Makana region over November and December there were a total of 25 infant
deaths due to diarrhoea, according to the municipality’s account at the recent social services, community empowerment and protection services meeting.
There is, however no firm evidence linking the deaths to water quality and Matebese says that the infants might have contracted the illness from a different water
source.
According to the Institute of Water Research Senior Research Officer, Nikite Muller, “there is a fine balance between not having enough chlorine, and so risking that disease–causing organisms do not die, and too much chlorine, and associated odour, taste and detrimental health risks from too high concentrations of the chemical.”
The optimum level of chlorine in our water, according to Muller, is between 0.3 and 0.6 mg per litre.
Tests conducted by Impec show that in January this year levels dropped to 0.01 parts chlorine per million parts water.
Matebese said that once this came to the municipality’s attention an arrangement was made with Impec where regular tests would be done in collaboration with the ostrich product exporters in order to maintain the water’s quality.
Since this was dealt with, according to Matebese, there have been no official complaints about the standard of the municipal water from any person, business or organisation.
