JOHANNESBURG - The Department of Water and Sanitation has opened a criminal case against the City of Tshwane after residents of Bronkhorstspruit were supplied with potentially contaminated water.
The municipality allegedly failed to chlorinate the water for about three weeks, despite it being sourced from an area affected by sewage pollution. Residents were also not adequately warned of the potential health risks.
Department director-general Sean Phillips said the department had taken regulatory action against the municipality, including issuing notices instructing it to alert residents to the danger and advising them to use the affected water only for flushing toilets.
“The department also opened a criminal case against the municipality for failing to warn residents that the water had not been chlorinated and could cause illness,” Phillips said.
Although the case is against the municipality, Phillips said the department had not gathered sufficient evidence to identify the individual officials who may have been responsible for the failures.
He said the municipality must establish who was responsible for ensuring the water was disinfected and for promptly notifying residents when its safety was compromised.
The mayor has launched an investigation and instructed the acting municipal manager to determine what went wrong and whether disciplinary action against officials is warranted.
Phillips said the department could not institute disciplinary proceedings against municipal employees because they did not fall under its authority.
READ | Bronkhorstspruit water crisis: Chlorine supply and costs under scrutiny
Meanwhile, the City of Tshwane announced on Thursday that the Findlay Reservoir, which supplies the Pretoria CBD and surrounding areas, had been contaminated after a burst sewer pipe leaked into it.
The city has since emptied the reservoir.
Central Pretoria and surrounding areas will be supplied by the Salvokop Reservoir while the situation is addressed.
In Johannesburg, Joburg Water has warned of possible water contamination in Bezuidenhout Valley, east of the CBD.
The utility completed repairs to a damaged water pipeline and sewer pipe in the suburb on Wednesday and suspects the work may have caused the contamination.
Joburg Water teams have collected water samples for testing and are continuing to flush the pipeline.
Read more: Ramaphosa says Tshwane water crisis could be resolved within days