Tshwane responds to OUTA on the issue of quality of water
24 July 2019
The City of Tshwane has noted the concerns of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) regarding the quality of water supplied to the Hammanskraal area.
The City has since informed OUTA that a complaint regarding water quality in the Hammanskraal area was previously reported by Hammanskraal residents to a Chapter 9 Institution, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), in July 2018. Since the complaint was lodged, there have been ongoing engagements between the City, National Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) as well as the SAHRC to address the concerns regarding the quality of water supplied to the community of Hammanskraal.
The City was already in the process of upgrading the Temba Water Treatment Plant (WTP), which supplies water to the Hammanskraal area, when the complaints were raised. The upgrades include the installation of advanced treatment processes such as Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) Filters as well as Ozone dosing system which are suited to treat water from the raw water source for the Temba WTP. The upgraded water treatment plant is currently undergoing the final commissioning stage, with the tie-in of the original and the new stage of the plant having been concluded in July 9 2019. This ensures that all the water passes through the Ozone treatment and GAC filters to improve the final water quality from the upgraded WTP.
The City also notes OUTA’s conclusion, based on one water sample taken on 05 July 2019, that the water is Not Fit for use as potable water and domestic use. As per the SANS 241-1:2015 standard mentioned in OUTA’s letter, the one sample that has been used as a reference – cannot be taken to represent the status of the water supplied to the Hammanskraal area. The standard further requires that a confirmatory sample be taken, in the case of a non-compliance, to confirm such non- compliance, which is not the case in this instance as there is no re-sampling results provided.
OUTA, has been informed of their incorrect conclusion which is based on only one sample, especially when there was no resampling to confirm the non-compliance. It is worth mentioning that the source of the water sample as well as the sampling procedure is not known as it was not witnessed by the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.
Since this matter is already handled by the (SAHRC) and the national department concerned, OUTA has been requested to allow the Chapter 9 Institution process to be concluded. All affected stakeholders will be kept informed of any developments.
The City recognises the right for individuals and/ or organised bodies to approach the courts of law, on the other hand, such steps should be undertaken when there are differences or a deadlock on issues raised in a round-table. To this end, the doors of the City’s Utility Services Department, the department responsible for administration of water and electricity, remain open to OUTA to ventilate concerns on the quality of water supplied to the Hammanskraal area.
Media enquiries:
MMC for Utility Services, Cllr Abel Tau
078 186 1312
Issued by Communication, Marketing and Events Department.