KNYSNA NEWS - Tons of rubbish were thrown into the water purification plant in White Location on Monday 13 August – allegedly by residents of Ward 4 who were protesting the municipality's failure to provide refuse collection.
The incident resulted in a near water shortage until the issue could be resolved, and residents were advised via SMS to treat water sparingly.
By late Monday afternoon, the municipality released a statement saying, “Due to an unforeseen incident at the water purification plant we are currently operating on only one purification unit which places our supply under strain. For the safety of our residents, the second purification unit has been isolated and flushed.”
It was also confirmed that the municipal water in reticulation remains safe to drink.
The Knysna municipality said in a press release on Thursday that after an attempt to sabotage Knysna’s water supply earlier this week tests confirmed that the water is safe for human consumption.
Councillor Peter Myers, Chairperson of the Technical Services Committee said laboratory results received on Tuesday confirmed that the treated water complies with requirements. “The only requirements not met were in terms of colour and turbidity, or clarity, which exceeded the limits relevant to the parameters measured. Even so the turbidity complied with the required aesthetic limits.”
He said that both plants were once again up and running. “The second plant was re-connected yesterday. We had to close and isolate the affected unit to clean it and to make sure that no contaminated water entered the system. With demand staying the same, but production capacity limited, the reservoirs were running low and loose sediment ended up in the pipes, causing the discoloration of the water. It must be emphasised that at no time was any contaminated water release into the distribution system.”
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