The Knysna Municipality says its water supply is safe for human consumption. This comes after there was an attempt to sabotage the municipality’s water supply.

Peter Myers, Chairperson of the Technical Services Committee says recent laboratory results have confirmed that the treated water complies with the SANS241-1:2015 requirements.

“The only requirements not met were in terms of colour and turbidity, or clarity, which exceeded the limits relevant to the parameters measured. Even so the turbidity complied with the required aesthetic limits,” he explains.

No contaminated water in the system

According to Myers the problem was caused by residents from White Location who dumped their refuse bags into the water purification plant.

“We had to close and isolate the affected unit to clean it and to make sure that no contaminated water entered the system. With demand staying the same, but production capacity limited, the reservoirs were running low and loose sediment ended up in the pipes, causing the discoloration of the water. It must be emphasised that at no time was any contaminated water release into the distribution system.”

Service delivery protests

Residents are unhappy with a service provider appointed in the area. “We’ve met with them numerous times before the incident and are working with them to try and resolve their issues.

“As we know the Technical Department is under enormous pressure as our available budget and resources are needed to address a variety of urgent issues. It is unfortunate that resources had to be spent on an act of sabotage, rather than focusing it where it is needed most.”