Water in Hammanskraal is safe to drink after a water supply interruption led to temporary turbidity in the drinking water earlier in February.

According to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), water utility Magalies Water experienced a power failure at its Klipdrift water treatment works on February 4, owing to a severe storm that affected the mini-substation.

This led to downtime of the wastewater plant, impacting the areas of Mandela Village, Marokolong, Ramotse, Kekana Gardens (Steve Bikoville), Kudube Unit 9, Babelegi Industrial and Bridgeview informal settlement.

A new mini-substation was procured, installed and commissioned by February 8, after which electricity supply was restored.

While the plant was restarted immediately, it took time to recover and the City of Tswhane and Magalies Water conducted testing and flushing of the system to get air out of the supply pipelines, as the downtime of the water treatment plant resulted in empty reservoirs and a dry reticulation system.

On February 11, it was found that there was some turbidity in the water, which could have been caused by settled sediments as a result of the system having been dry for a period of time.

All other parameters, apart from turbidity, complied with the SANS 241:2015 drinking water quality standard, with subsequent tests and further flushing of the distribution system conducted on February 13 indicating that there was no noncompliance on any water quality parameters.

The continuously monitored water in the system continues to be compliant to SANS 241:2015 and safe for human consumption.

On February 14, an urgent meeting was convened by DWS Deputy Minister David Mahlobo, City of Tshwane executive mayor Councillor Nasiphi Moya and Magalies Water to clarify the quality following media reports of poor water quality in the area.

The meeting confirmed that the water is now safe to drink.

It was agreed that officials from the City and Magalies Water would meet weekly to ensure proper coordination and timeous and clear communication to the public regarding any water supply disruptions.

Magalies Water’s highly advanced ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited Scientific Services Laboratory and its staff continuously monitor water quality in the system.

Rigorous monitoring protocols are implemented and informed by a risk-based approach that adheres to regulatory frameworks.

The City of Tshwane and Magalies Water, supported by DWS, will continue taking samples and assessing water quality in Hammanskraal and the City of Tshwane will continue to provide updates to residents accordingly.