Government to test water in Senekal

Friday, April 8, 2016

Pretoria - The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) will conduct an operation to test water in Senekal, in the Free State.

The department said the operation, which will run from 12 to 15 April, will test water tankers that supply the community with water for any hazardous substances or bacteria. The tests will be done with assistance from the University of the Free State.

“Taking into consideration the health of the community and prioritising it, DWS will test water from the source where the water tankers are filled and the tankers themselves as well as the nozzles to ensure the quality of water is safe for consumption,” the department said on Thursday.

Where necessary, chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite are added to the water in the tank and circulated for a period of 30 minutes before the water can be distributed to consumers. These processes are followed routinely to avoid any outbreaks off illness from consumption of unclean water.

The department has appealed to communities to clean the containers they use to collect water from the truck with a cleaning agent momentarily to ensure they drink clean water at all times.

The drought stricken community has been receiving water from the department’s water tankers since December. - SAnews.gov.za