DA requests probe into Sol Plaatje’s water quality

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is concerned about the quality of the water being received by Sol Plaatje residents and we have appealed to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to institute an investigation into the matter. 

Numerous residents have been complaining of visibly dirty water coming through their taps for a number of weeks already. While this was initially put down to the impact of the flooding of the Vaal, our own investigations point to a bigger problem. 

On an oversight inspection by myself and DA councillor Peet Louw to the Riverton Water Purification Plant on Thursday last week, we found that while the water has extremely high levels of turbulence, seemingly clear water is leaving the Riverton plant, en route to various areas of Kimberley. See pics here, here and here. 

This alone does not address water quality, nor does it rule out concerns that, for a certain period during the festive season there may have been negligence in terms of frequent water testing and chemical treatment at Riverton. It does, however, give an indication that the current problem possibly lies along the distribution pipelines to some suburbs, that may be damaged or for which repairs were carried out and scour valves or fire hydrants were not properly drained, or at respective reservoirs.  

This prompted a further oversight inspection to Newton Reservoir on Friday. While I subsequently found that the water at the 102 mega-litre reservoir was clear, I discovered that two of the four reservoirs were last cleaned more than 14 years ago. This is contrary to Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s), that require annual cleaning of reservoirs. 

Kimberley’s water situation is worrying, especially as the exact source and extent of the current water contamination cannot be determined.  

The DA has asked DWS to investigate the quality of Sol Plaatje’s water being fed to residents over the past two months as well as the non-compliance regarding water management of SOP’s.   

Last week, I also wrote to the technical head at Sol Plaatje with a number of questions relating to the water situation. As I continue to wait for a response, I will proceed with my own investigations and push for Sol Plaatje to urgently assess the entire water system to determine where current water contamination is taking place. 

Ockert Fourie, Cllr

*PRESS RELEASE

Also read: DA vra ondersoek na Sol Plaatje se watergehalte

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