Parys’ tap water ‘not drinkable’
EVERY day before she goes to work, beadmaker Tshuku Molaluhi ensures she has her water containers with her.
Parys Clay Beads has a borehole and a water purifier which staff use for claymaking and drinking.
“The water we get at home, you can’t drink it,” says Molahui of Parys’s water which is sourced from the contaminated Vaal River. “It’s dirty and there are worms in it.”
Pam Trabucco, who run Parys Clay Beads, which was created to help historically disadvantaged and disabled people, opens a tap.
“The water looks clear now. But it’s not clean. Of course you can’t drink it. There’s times when the water comes out totally brown.
“The Vaal River is filthy, and so are all the streams in the town. Nobody in Parys drinks the tap water.
“Your clothing never stays white either.”
The polluted water affects the clay, changing the colours, she adds.
“When we first came here two years ago, we were warned that we must only drink bottled water. We noticed our staff always had upset stomachs. Now, they have clean water to take home to their families.”
From Emfuleni, the tainted water in the Vaal runs downstream to other provinces where communities use it for drinking and farming.
“What starts there in Emfuleni ends up here in Parys,” remarks Selma Kok of the Vaal Action Group.
“It affects the quality of the water we get if our purification works are not functioning. You can imagine if you have a market and there’s dead fish floating in the river.”