Residents of Bloemfontein and towns in the Mangaung Metro Municipality have been battling with foul-smelling, dirty water since Friday.
Dirk Kotze, DA councillor, said the DA would report the water quality issues in the metro to the provincial legislature and inform the Human Rights Commission (HRC).
He said councillors had been receiving complaints since Friday, 6 September. Residents were reporting tap water that had a brownish tint and a foul odour, presumably due to sediment visible in the water.
Qondile Khedama, head of communications at the Mangaung Metro, said in a news release on Sunday that the city’s technical team was busy with investigations regarding the colour of the water in Dewetsdorp, Wepener, Uitsig, Generaal De Wet, Hospital Park and Fleurdal.
“Investigations involve water sampling and searching for possible pipe bursts or leaks on the trunk main, which could potentially cause discolouring in specific areas of the city,” Khedama said.
The DA received complaints from residents in the southern and central suburbs of Bloemfontein, as well as in Dewetsdorp and Wepener. Issues arose just a week after Vaal Central Water conducted winter maintenance at the Brandkop Reservoir, located in Pellissier.
Kotze said the metro’s water engineers only took remedial action after DA councillors had urged Sello More, city manager, and Itumeleng Masobeng, head of engineering, to address the issue.
On Sunday, engineers requested the locations at which residents had complained about water quality. They were then reminded that councillors had already submitted this information the previous Friday. The details had been provided in a dedicated WhatsApp group for reporting water and sewerage incidents, which was set up due to the non-functional call centre at the metro.
In February 2024, the HRC held public hearings, chaired by National Commissioner Dr Henk Boshoff, after having received complaints about water quality. It was stated that at least three water reservoirs had been non-operational for more than seven years.
Boshoff said Mangaung received a substantial income from its residents and continued to have access to large national grants provided to it annually.
“It is disheartening to note that residents have been paying 6% more for municipal water and sanitation taxes since 1 July, yet it seems the head of water management does not prioritise our natural resources,” Kotze said in the news release today.
He said the DA was also troubled by the fact that Masobeng’s salary had been increased from R545 700 to an annual R1 961 448, a raise approved by the ANC caucus. Just a week later, residents are already complaining about tap water quality.
In June 2023, the DA submitted a motion to create a steering committee to address the ongoing water management crisis in Mangaung.
The DA has informed Speaker Lawrence Mathae that this motion has not yet been presented to the council.
The motion was submitted by the late DA councillor Rossouw Botes.
“To date, councillors have not received any feedback from the metro regarding the cause of the discoloured water and foul odour,” Kotze said.
Khedama said as precaution the piplenes were being flushed and disinfected, and further testing was underway.
“As a precautionary measure, citizens in affected areas are advised to boil tap water before drinking.”
