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- As a precaution, the City of Cape Town had advised residents of the CBD and Atlantic Seaboard not to drink municipal tap water.
- Mobile standpipes were installed along Beach Road for residents to collect water for domestic consumption, if necessary.
- The City said an investigation into the quality of the water has shown no health risk.
The City of Cape Town announced that the precautionary water advisory, relating to the Atlantic Seaboard, has been lifted.
After extensive sampling, it has been revealed that there is no health risk in the distribution system. The water is safe to drink.
In a statement released late on Friday evening, the City said a possible reason for the increased complaints about a funny taste was trace amounts of 2-Methylisoborneol (MIB).
"MIB is a nuisance compound, with no health impact. It is produced by certain types of algae, which are at times present in the City's dams. It is possible that the rainfall on 26/27 April mobilised algal particles along the natural water course between the Woodhead Dam and transfer tunnel," it said.
"Powdered activated carbon is routinely used to remove taste and odour when these issues are noticed at the plant. However, in this case, no smell or taste was noticed by staff on-site, and laboratory analysis was required to confirm the presence of MIB."
Earlier this week, as a precaution, the City had advised residents of the CBD and Atlantic Seaboard not to drink municipal tap water.
READ MORE |'Testing is ongoing' as certain parts of Cape Town complain of smell, taste of water
Mobile standpipes had been installed along Beach Road for residents to collect water for domestic consumption, if necessary.
Mayoral committee member for water and waste services, Xanthea Limberg, said: "The City looked at where complaints were coming from, and which treatment plants/reservoirs are supplying those areas, and determined the area which could be at risk from this information. Further sampling was then undertaken within these areas to identify possible non-compliance and, if possible, further narrow down the scope of the precautionary water advisory."
Natural health practitioner Anthony Rees had suspected that a substance, called geosmin, caused the bad smell and taste of the drinking water.
"It's caused by a non-toxic bacterial bloom in reservoirs and dams. The bacteria absorbs large amounts of earth minerals from the lake or dam floor, giving the earthy taste, and produces hydrogen sulfide gas, which gives the smell. This is often caused by wide water temperature fluctuations and low water levels. Perhaps ash (minerals) from the recent fires fell in the water reservoir and caused the bacterial bloom," he said.
Residents along the Atlantic Seaboard have sent queries regarding the water since the City sent out a circular.
Prior to the statement by the City on Friday night, Atlantic Seaboard Action Group chairperson Paul Jacobson said no one had given residents clear instructions on what to do.
"Despite the many enquiries by our concerned residents from the Atlantic Seaboard as to why our water supply is contaminated and whether we are able to boil the water to prevent sickness, we still have not received any clear advice or instructions. This is extremely disturbing and we call on the relevant City Officials to present their data and discoveries in the spirit of transparency and honestly."
ALSO READ | Coastal water quality in question
In a recent report, presented to the water and waste services portfolio committee meeting, it was stated that there had been a slow decline in the water quality preceding June 2018.
Limberg said the minor decline in the water quality since June 2018 was a result of the increased number of samples failing free chlorine and turbidity parameters.
"Lower post-drought consumption means that water is in the pipe for longer than before, which gives more time for free chlorine to dissipate. Regarding turbidity, pressure management initiatives implemented during the drought may have contributed to an increase in turbidity (in other words reduced clarity) as pressure changes can disturb trace sediments that have built up inside the pipes over the years," said Limberg.
It's not the first time the City has been taken to task over the quality of water.
In Milnerton and Table View, residents have been up in arms to petition the City to fix the sewage pollution crisis within the Diep River and Milnerton Lagoon. Residents have since reached out to Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA) for assistance.
OUTA legal project manager, Andrea Korff, said the alliance is of the view that the Cape Town municipality had a duty towards its communities to resolve these situations as a matter of urgency.
"It is, after all, the City's responsibility towards the community to ensure that the quality of water, whether it is for human consumption or otherwise, sufficiently complies with all guidelines and to monitor the quality regularly."
