Tshwane boosts water deliveries after 408 people fall ill
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on IOL
Tshwane municipality will step up water deliveries by tanker after 408 residents fell ill following water contamination, most of them children under four. Tests detected several pathogens and high levels of bacteria in the water, according to South African health and municipal authorities.
Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya has announced that additional water tankers will be sent to Bronkhorstspruit and nearby localities after 408 cases of gastrointestinal illness were linked to contaminated water. One additional tanker was due to be deployed on Wednesday, bringing the total to 36, according to municipal authorities.
Between 7 and 18 October, 408 cases were reported in Zithobeni, Bronkhorstspruit, Dark City, Rethabiseng and Sokhulumi, in Tshwane’s Region 7, according to a joint statement from the national and provincial health departments and the municipality. Most of those who fell ill are children under four. Tests detected norovirus, Campylobacter and Shigella in three of the four stool samples examined; no cholera agent was found.
Tests conducted on 14 October by the Department of Water and Sanitation found very high levels of E. coli and coliforms in water from the treatment plant and in the Ekandustria and Zithobeni reservoirs. The plant’s water supply was not chlorinated from 24 September to 14 October because of difficulties with the chlorine supplier. The water comes from the Bronkhorstspruit River, which is polluted by wastewater discharges.
Authorities have told residents not to use water from the affected network for drinking, cooking, washing or other household purposes, even after boiling it; it should only be used to flush toilets. The safety instruction follows the declaration that tap water is unfit for use, issued on 21 October.
Summary produced with the help of artificial intelligence tools, under AFREEQUE’s editorial responsibility.
