Central SA
Upington community say they are forced to drink contaminated water─── 09:10 Sun, 23 Oct 2022
The residents of Dawid Kruiper Municipality in Upington in the Northern Cape, who cannot afford bottled water, say they are forced to drink contaminated water.
The quality of the water is under the spotlight following independent tests by AfriForum which found bacteria in the water.
But, the Dawid Kruiper Municipality has refuted the test results, stating that the water quality is great.
This comes after failing three water tests for the month of September.
It has been confirmed that bacteria has been found in their sample. Despite the municipality insisting that the water is safe to drink, residents have expressed concern.
“We are suffering most of the time with water, especially with kids, the kids are getting sick in the Northern Cape. And also we are struggling with government clinics and hospitals and they shout at us because the water is very dirty.”
Ecoli in the water
AfriForum says they conducted the three tests on the water after it suspected water contamination and its suspicions were confirmed after discovering Ecoli in the water.
Upington coordinator Werner Strauss says: “The bacteria is dangerous and it can kill. We did three tests and found Ecoli.”
However, the Dawid Kruiper Municipality says that it is not true that the water is not drinkable. Mayor Michael Segede elaborates:
Mayor Michael Segede says: “There is no problem with the quality of our water. It’s true Afriforum did raise the issue of water but we had a meeting with Afriforum and we confirmed with them that our water is fine even the Department of Water and Sanitation wrote a letter to them and said our water is fine and drinkable. There is no problem, and they test our water regularly so. It is not true that our water is not drinkable.”
The municipality says it will continue monitoring water and conduct tests to avoid putting the lives of the residents at risk.
