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The uThukela District Municipality has advised residents to boil tap water before use. (Manolo Guijarro/ Getty Images)
The uThukela District Municipality has advised residents in Colenso, Winterton, and Bergville to boil tap water before consumption.Traces of E. coli were detected in the water supply following the discovery of dead fish in the Bergville canal.The municipality has temporarily halted the abstraction of water from the canal and stopped pumping water into reservoirs as a precautionary measure.Residents in the north of KwaZulu-Natal have been asked to boil their tap water first before using it, after dead fish were found in one of the main water supply sources.
The already water strapped uThukela District Municipality advised residents in Colenso, Winterton and Bergville to boil tap water used for drinking.
The municipality’s executive support manager, Siyabonga Masoka, said it had found traces of E. coli in the Colenso and Bergville water works treatment plants.
Masoka added this came after internal laboratory test results were conducted by the municipality on the water quality, following the discovery of numerous dead fish in the Bergville canal.
“The boil water alert will stay in effect until the municipality is confident there is no longer a public health concern.”
Masoka said the municipality had also temporarily suspended the abstraction of water from the canal.
He added the municipality and other relevant institutions were investigating the incident.
“As a precautionary measure, the pumping of water into reservoirs in Zwelisha, Langkloof and Bergville have been halted. However, we can assure the community the water currently in the system is safe for consumption,” said Masoka.
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The reservoirs are the main water supply in areas that include Bergville Town, Zwelisha, and Moyeni as well as rural areas in wards 12, 10, 15, and 11.
While the municipality has asked residents to boil water before drinking, a researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr Luyanda Ndlela, cautioned boiling water might not remove all toxins.
Ndlela said a few minutes should suffice once 100 degrees Celsius (boiling temperature) was reached.
She added:
Boiling water can eliminate most microorganisms, however, some toxins may not be removed through boiling water – e.g. microcystins from algal blooms. Some microorganisms/spores are not removed by boiling, however, a majority is sensitive to boiling.
Ndlela said it was possible factors such as potential bacteria or viral pathogens and/or algal toxins were causing the fish to die.
She added the health risks ranged from skin rashes, neurotoxic effects, stomach-related illnesses (diarrhoea, vomiting) and possible further complications leading to hospitalisation, depending on the specific cause.
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