Overview
- Over a multiweek period in September and October the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works supplied unchlorinated water drawn from a sewage-polluted river to Zithobeni, Rethabiseng, Dark City, Sokhulumi and Bronkhorstspruit.
- Health services treated more than 800 people for gastrointestinal illness with stool tests identifying norovirus, Campylobacter and Shigella while no cholera was found and no deaths were reported.
- Rand Water’s inspection found extreme sludge in clearwater tanks, dissolved air flotation units and filters that were not working, poor chemical management, pump and filtration failures and a lack of critical spare parts after years of underinvestment.
- Teams have cleaned reservoirs, repaired equipment, carried out shock chlorination and partially recommissioned the plant but officials say the water is still unsafe to drink until repeated laboratory tests, network flushing and repressurisation confirm compliance with standards.
- Mayor Nasiphi Moya has ordered an external inquiry and the Public Protector has opened an investigation, and city officials say long-term fixes will require sustained investment, better monitoring and legally binding warning duties to protect residents’ health and dignity.