The City of Tshwane has made significant progress in rehabilitating the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works, but residents affected by the water contamination crisis will have to wait for laboratory tests and safety clearances before they can safely drink water from their taps.
Executive Mayor Nasiphi Moya said on Tuesday that technical teams had repaired critical equipment, cleaned treatment infrastructure and progressively restored filtration and chlorination processes at the plant, which has been at the centre of a water contamination crisis that left hundreds of residents ill.
Rand Water was appointed as the city’s implementing agent on October 21 to lead the immediate rehabilitation and stabilisation of the facility.
The utility has deployed engineers, scientists and operational specialists to work alongside municipal technical staff.
Speaking during an update at the treatment works on Tuesday, Moya said the rehabilitation had moved from cleaning and repairing the plant to preparing the storage reservoirs and distribution network for the safe restoration of water supplies.
“While the treatment works is now progressing through commissioning, this does not automatically mean that water is ready for consumption,” she said.
“The treatment process must operate reliably, the reservoirs and distribution network must be properly disinfected, and laboratory testing must confirm compliance with the required drinking-water standards.”
The warning means that the resumption of pumping does not necessarily signal the immediate return of safe drinking water to affected households.
Once the necessary safety clearance is obtained, reservoirs will need to refill and pipelines will need to regain pressure. Communities further away from the treatment works and those in higher-lying areas could experience longer delays.
Treatment plant undergoes rehabilitation
The crisis emerged after the city experienced problems with its chlorine supply, resulting in water from the treatment works not being chlorinated between September 24 and October 14.
The Department of Water and Sanitation’s investigation found that the plant had supplied water without adequate disinfection, while officials failed to warn affected residents timeously.
Government subsequently confirmed that water testing had found extremely high levels of E. coli and total coliforms in water from the plant and the Ekandustria and Zithobeni reservoirs.
The contamination was linked to an outbreak of gastrointestinal illnesses affecting communities in Tshwane’s Region 7.
A joint government statement reported 408 cases between October 7 and 18, with most patients under four years old. Laboratory tests detected pathogens including Norovirus, Campylobacter and Shigella in samples from infected patients.
The Department of Water and Sanitation also identified sewage pollution in the Bronkhorstspruit River, which supplies raw water to the treatment works.
According to Moya’s latest update, Rand Water’s initial assessment found extensive sludge accumulation in clear-water tanks, dissolved air flotation units and filters. There were also problems with pumping and filtration equipment, chemical management, maintenance arrangements and the availability of essential spare parts.
Over the past two weeks, technical teams have cleaned treatment infrastructure, removed accumulated sludge and repaired critical equipment.
Phase 2 of the treatment works was commissioned for flushing and disinfection on October 28. Further treatment and shock chlorination followed the next day, including disinfection of the clear-water sump.
On Monday, November 2, the plant was recommissioned at 2.30pm to supply treated water to the Ekandustria reservoirs for further shock chlorination.
Cleaning has also been completed at the two Zithobeni reservoirs, with capacities of 30 million and 15 million litres, as well as the Ekandustria reservoir system, which comprises reservoirs of 11.5 million and 13.5 million litres.
However, further disinfection, flushing, an outstanding valve installation at Zithobeni and laboratory verification remain necessary.
Moya said testing had detected a low level of E. coli in water discharged during the cleaning of the clear-water sump. Disinfection procedures would be repeated until tests confirmed that the contamination had been eliminated.
The city expects much of the outstanding work to be completed over the coming days, subject to technical processes and water-quality verification.
Rand Water brought in to stabilise plant
Rand Water’s involvement is intended to strengthen the city’s technical capacity and help restore the plant to a condition where it can consistently produce safe drinking water.
In previous updates, the utility and the city have stressed that the treatment works must undergo cleaning, repairs, disinfection and testing before supplies can be declared safe.
The appointment follows earlier concerns about the plant’s ageing infrastructure and operational shortcomings.
Moya said Rand Water would remain involved until the facility was stabilised, after which operational responsibility would be transferred back to the municipality through a safe and orderly handover.
The city will remain responsible for longer-term investment and rehabilitation.
Water shortages persist across Tshwane
Beyond Bronkhorstspruit, several parts of Tshwane continue to experience supply problems because of constrained bulk-water availability, high consumption and reservoirs struggling to recover.
The city’s 7am report on Tuesday identified Regions 1, 3, 4 and 6 as areas under pressure.
Region 3 was the most severely affected, with the Klapperkop, Heights HL and Carina reservoir systems operating at critically low levels.
In Region 1, a power failure has prevented pumping to the Soshanguve L Tower, affecting high-lying areas. Mabopane Main was also reporting low storage, while Kruisfontein East was empty.
Region 4 remained relatively stable, although several reservoirs were below desirable levels. Conditions in Region 6 were more encouraging, particularly around Garsfontein, Elardus Park and Moreleta, but Mamelodi R1 remained empty and Mamelodi R3 critically low.
Moya appealed to residents who still have water to reduce unnecessary consumption to allow reservoir levels to recover.
The city is working with Rand Water to manage available bulk supplies and stabilise affected systems.
Investigation widened
The mayor also announced that the city was expanding its investigation into the failures that contributed to the crisis.
A preliminary investigation identified possible shortcomings by the plant manager, including inadequate monitoring of chlorine stocks, weak inventory controls and failures to escalate the risk of the chlorine supply running out.
The plant manager was placed on precautionary suspension pending further investigation.
However, Moya said she was dissatisfied with the preliminary report because it focused largely on one individual without adequately examining the broader chain of responsibility.
The city’s Chief Audit Executive has formally registered an independent forensic investigation, and external investigators have been appointed.
The investigation will examine procurement, supply-chain management, operational decisions, administrative oversight and whether officials failed to communicate the risks to residents.
“Where negligence, misconduct or dereliction of duty is established, appropriate consequence management must follow,” Moya said.
She added that the investigation must also identify systemic weaknesses and corrective measures to prevent a recurrence.
As the local government elections approach, Moya said this would be her final consolidated mayoral briefing on the crisis, but she had engaged the city manager to ensure that rehabilitation, public-health monitoring and communication continued regardless of changes in political leadership.
For affected residents, the immediate priority remains access to safe drinking water. Until laboratory testing confirms that the supply meets the required standards, the city has not declared the water safe for consumption.
