By: Zethu Gweva
For the past week residents of East London have been quarrelling about the taste of water from Buffalo City Metro Municipality.
Mdantsane resident Ayabulela Moko said the taste and odour of the water are unbearable, even when she boils the water to drink later, the taste and odour remain the same.
“This one time I almost puked because of the smell. I can not comprehend the smell, it smells like mud or rust, said Moko.”
Moko added that she is worried that the water is contaminated and might make people sick.
Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality Spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya assured residents that the water is safe to drink and the taste and odour of the water is due to the seasonal algae bloom in the dam.
“We can assure the public that the water is safe to drink as per the microbiological tests, which are done weekly on the potable water,” said Ngwenya.
Another resident from Cambridge Lonwabo Vika expressed that he has been having a running stomach and is not sure whether it is the water or not.
“The past two days my stomach has been running and my concern is it might be the water or just a bug but it’s kind of convenient that when the water taste changes and I suddenly have a running stomach,” he said.
Ngwenya conveyed that there are stomach pains or gastrointestinal infections or associated with taste and the odour of the water.
“We have reacted to this by increasing the dosage of powder activated carbon, which deals with taste and odour as from the past weekend,” he said.