Pretoria – The North West Local Government and Human Settlements MEC, Collen Maine, says the provincial government is working around the clock to resolve the issue of contaminated water in Lekwa-Teemane Municipality.
Local residents were recently admitted at the local hospital and clinics for diarrhoea and stomach cramps after drinking contaminated water.
MEC Maine said a bacterium was detected in the municipal dam, which subsequently contaminated the water.
“The water system was then flushed out and reservoirs emptied to clean up the water distribution system. Tests are still being conducted to determine the type of [bacterium] in the water, though it is suspected to be E. coli.
“The municipality had to stop distributing water to the community for safety precautions and the population of 30 000 was affected,” said the MEC.
Results of water tests will be out on Monday but further test will still be conducted to ensure that the matter is resolved.
MEC Maine further said water has been restored to residents and the situation will normalise as from this coming week. However, residents are still advised to boil water before use.
As a temporary measure, residents are also being provided with water through tanks. Two technical committees -- which consist of officials from the Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality and Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality, Departments of Health and Water Affairs, Sedibeng Water and other stakeholders -- have been established to mitigate the effects of the incident, including raising awareness on health safety measures. – SAnews.gov.za
