New water plant ‘will be up and running in the next 10 days’

Residents of Temba in Hammanskraal and surrounding areas can expect clean tap water in 10 days, Tshwane MMC of utility services Darryl Moss said yesterday.

Moss said new technology was being introduced at the Temba water purification plant while it was being rebuilt. The project will be completed at the end of August.

‘’We are busy putting in a new plant and doing so unit by unit. Within 10 days we should start seeing an improvement. The quality and quantity will be as good as anywhere in the world,’’ Moss told reporters in Johannesburg.

He said Temba water has a brownish colour, bad taste and smell, but “no bacterial issues’’.

‘’The new technology will sort out all these issues,’’ Moss said.

The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) held a meeting with city officials and the provincial water and sanitation department yesterday after violent protests in Hammanskraal and complaints about unsafe water.

Moss said the Rooiwal waste water plant, which provides bulk raw water to the Temba plant for purification, also needed infrastructure upgrading. A tender advertisement has been issued to dredge the ponds and improve the infrastructure, he said.

Violent protests erupted in Temba, Hammanskraal earlier this month over the poor quality of drinking water.

Angry protesters used rocks and burning tyres to block roads, including at council offices, Jubilee Mall and the Temba water purification plant. A meeting between the residents forum and City of Tshwane followed but did not bear any fruit as residents demanded to meet with mayor Solly Msimanga. The SAHRC undertook a site visit on Tuesday to see the quality of the water supply.

Commission spokesperson Buang Jones said there was a “prima facie violation” of the residents’ rights to clean drinking water.

“South Africans, and residents of Hammanskraal in particular, have a right to clean water supply. The city, the commission and the department will meet every month to assess progress pertaining to clean water for Hammanskraal and until all problems have been eliminated. We got a deep sense of the problems at the meeting ... all parties committed to resolving this matter.’’ – ANA