The DA in Phalaborwa wrote to the municipal manager, Dr Lucas Pilusa, to conduct a thorough review of all water and sewage infrastructure to prevent water contamination.
Following complaints by businesses and residents of Phalaborwa of smelly and bad tasting water, the DA contacted the Senior Manager Technical Services who requested Lepelle Water to urgently conduct a water test, which confirmed contamination.
During a site meeting, concerns were raised about the contamination risks, and subsequently a water pipeline was found crossing through a sewerage manhole at the corner of Park & Hans Pirrow Streets.
While the leak in the water pipe has been temporarily fixed, the underlying risk of contamination remains high.
Such contamination poses significant health risks to residents and local businesses.
We call on all residents to immediately report smelly water to ward councillors or the water department for intervention to minimize health risks.
We further requested the municipal manager to continue with rigorous water testing, to share the results with the public and to put public health and safety measures in place until all contamination risks have been mitigated.