Durban — Political parties within eThekwini Municipality have welcomed the water testing study that has revealed that the city’s tap water is safe for consumption by residents.
The study was done by Durban University of Technology scientists, and has assured the residents of eThekwini that its water quality has improved drastically.
IFP eThekwini caucus leader Mdu Nkosi applauded the tests done to guarantee safe water for eThekwini residents.
He encouraged the City to ensure that residents are always supplied with proper drinking water, and requested it to keep the standard of water quality the best at all times.
ANC Exco member in eThekwini, Nkosenhle Madlala, welcomed DUT’s findings, saying that the City had always worked tirelessly to ensure that its residents are provided the best services at all times.
Welcoming the findings, DA caucus leader Thabani Mthethwa said the DA wanted to send a strong message to the City’s water and sanitation unit officials that they must make sure they fix all pump stations and waste water treatment plants in the city, to avoid future contamination.
DUT’s director of the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Professor Faizal Bux, confirmed that “water samples were collected on August 30, from various areas within eThekwini Municipality, encompassing the northern, southern and western parts of the metro”.
Bux said that the collection process was meticulously executed by researchers from the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology at DUT, adhering to a stringent chain of custody protocols.
Bux added that “the analysis followed standard microbiological water quality assessment procedures, as outlined in SANS 241 and included tap water samples obtained from households in the region.
“Importantly, the areas tested had a consistent supply of water during the sampling period,” Bux affirmed.
The eagerly awaited results of the analysis, which are of significant interest to the public, have revealed that there was no presence of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria in any of the water samples that was tested.
Bux added that “it is essential to emphasise that this analysis was conducted solely in the interest of public safety, and it was not commissioned by any specific organisation or entity”.
These findings provide residents of the eThekwini Metro area with valuable assurance regarding the safety of their tap water supply.
“Clean and safe water is vital for public health and this quarterly, independent analysis, serves as a testament to the commitment of the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology at DUT in ensuring the public’s awareness of the quality and safety of the region’s water resources,” Bux said.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana has said that the City assured residents that its tap water source is safe to use. She encouraged hem to always use trusted water sources and to practise good hand hygiene to prevent water-borne diseases.
“eThekwini Municipality is encouraged by the recent results from independent water tests conducted by the DUT Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology (IWWT) confirming the City’s message that eThekwini’s water remains safe to drink,” Sisilana said.
This comes after the award-winning DUT scientists at the Institute for IWWT have conducted their latest independent, quarterly analysis of tap water in the eThekwini Metro area.
The results, released on Friday September 1, reassuringly verified that at the time of testing, Durban’s tap water was safe to consume.
Sisilana added, “Our potable water continues to be sampled regularly for quality testing by our dedicated team of scientists at our accredited inhouse state-of-the-art laboratory.
“We would also like to assure residents that the water delivered by our water tankers is from the same reservoirs that are tested at the same lab.”
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