Durban - Umgeni Water says water produced by it is of excellent quality and is safe to drink.
The water utility said in a statement issued on Wednesday that anonymous WhatsApp messages were circulating in which it was alleged that there was compromised water quality in Scottsville in Pietermaritzburg and that it was being alleged that a “critical level of E coli” may be the cause of “tummy issues and vomiting going around”.
Umgeni Water said theses messages should be ignored as they were a “fabrication”.
“In a convoluted and confused way, it associates E coli results from sampling done in the Msunduzi River with drinking water quality supplied to Scottsville and Hayfields. Water in a river is untreated and therefore it is expected to contain contaminants due to generally poor water catchment quality. The writer of the message attempts to associate potable water (treated drinking water) with the outcomes of the sampling that was done in the Msunduzi river. There is no association and the message disseminated appears to be intended to cause panic.”
The water utility said it wanted to provide assurance that the potable (drinking) water it supplies to its seven municipal customers conforms to rigorous drinking water quality standards as stipulated in South African National Standards (Sans) 241 for drinking water quality.
“Advanced water treatment technologies and chemicals are used at Umgeni Water’s treatment plants to treat raw water abstracted from rivers and dams so that safe drinking water is produced for the protection of public health. Chlorine and chlorine-based compounds are used as disinfectants to efficiently and effectively destroy micro-organisms during the water treatment process.”