Sophie Ranch (left) and Christina Ntuli are some of the many elderly people who push wheelbarrows to fetch water from a hole in Ekangala. Their tap water is contaminated and they say tankers from the City of Tshwane are insufficient. Photos: Warren Mabona
- Residents of Dark City near Bronkhorstspruit are collecting water from a hole because their tap water is contaminated and the City of Tshwane’s water tankers are not delivering enough.
- The source of the water in the hole is unknown, but residents use it for drinking, cooking and bathing, despite fears it could make them sick.
- Authorities recorded over 400 cases of gastrointestinal illness in areas around Bronkhorstspruit and nearby communities.
- Mayor Nasiphi Moya said the City was working to improve tanker distribution and had engaged Rand Water to speed up repairs. There is no confirmed date for when tap water will be safe to drink again.
Christina Ntuli, 71, has to push a wheelbarrow loaded with containers for about one and a half kilometres to fetch water from a hole in the ground.
Many residents of Dark City near Bronkhorstspruit collect water from this hole beside the R568 in Ekangala, because their tap water is contaminated and tanker deliveries from the City of Tshwane do not meet their needs.
Residents said that since 14 October the City had sent only one or two tankers a week.
GroundUp found more than 20 residents taking turns to collect water from the hole on Wednesday. We could not establish where the water came from. Some residents speculate that it comes from a broken pipe.
Ntuli lives with her grandchildren, who are too young to push a wheelbarrow loaded with water containers. She said, “My knees are painful and my whole body is very weak.”
The family uses the water for drinking, cooking and bathing, although they are unsure whether it is safe.
Pensioner Sophie Ranch, 65, said she struggles to push the wheelbarrow.
“I am really suffering,” she said. “Some people buy drinking water but I cannot afford it. This water is also drunk by different animals including goats, cattle and dogs. I fear we will get diseases from this water but we have no choice but to use it.”
Both women said they and their grandchildren had suffered diarrhoea and stomach pains in recent days. They said they had stopped drinking tap water in September. They said the water was discoloured. They have treated themselves with home remedies.
Resident Maswidi Masilela uses small containers to collect water from the hole. He said he is unemployed and cannot afford to buy bigger containers.
Dingaan Khumalo, who lives in Ebhubesini informal settlement about four kilometres from Dark City, also collects water from the hole daily. He said many people in Ekangala and other parts of Bronkhorstspruit were ignoring the government warning not to drink the tap water because they were desperate.
“You cannot say to people they must not drink contaminated tap water but continue to supply the same water to their taps,” he said, criticising the municipality’s response.
“The municipality must fix this problem quickly because it is failing to send more tankers to give us enough water. We are now drinking this dirty water which might make us sick as well.”
GroundUp later visited the town centre, where people were buying bottled water from shops. Businesses were operating as usual, but street vendors said the water crisis had cut their profits.
Ntombi Mbatha, who sells pap and roasted meat on Lanham Street, said she has to buy water from the supermarket every day for cooking, washing dishes and serving customers.
“I make little profit because of this water problem,” she said.
Ntombi Mbatha sells pap and roasted meat on Lanham Street in Bronkhorstspruit. She says the water crisis has cut her profits.
On Monday, authorities reported over 400 cases of gastrointestinal illness had been recorded in Tshwane’s region 7 between 7 and 18 October. The region includes Bronkhorstspruit, Zithobeni, Dark City, Rethabiseng and Sokhulumi. No deaths had been reported.
Investigations by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and the Department of Water and Sanitation linked the cases to contaminated municipal tap water from the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works. Water from the plant was not chlorinated between 24 September and 14 October, and Tshwane did not promptly warn residents.
At a joint briefing this week, the national Department of Health, the Department of Water and Sanitation and the City warned residents in areas supplied by the works not to drink tap water or use it for bathing, cooking, brushing teeth or washing food or clothes. The City said it had been distributing water by tanker since 14 October.
GroundUp asked the City of Tshwane whether it would send more tankers and whether any officials had been held accountable for the failure to chlorinate water at the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works. The City had not responded by the time of publication.
In a media statement on Wednesday, Tshwane executive mayor Nasiphi Moya said the City was “working with ward councillors, ward committees and community leaders to improve distribution and address concerns about access to water”.
Moya said the City had engaged Rand Water to speed up repairs to the plant, but that there was no confirmed date for when tap water would be safe to drink again.
She said “appropriate consequence management will follow” where negligence or misconduct was established.
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