On Monday the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality released a statement warning the public that the municipal water may be unsafe for drinking. This was following recent testing which showed that the quality of the water had significantly deteriorated. As a result, residents of Port Elizabeth and the surrounding areas that form part of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality have been advised to boil any municipal water before ingesting it.
Port Elizabeth Water Below SANS Standards
The municipal water currently exceeds certain microbiological limits which put it below the required SANS standards. Hence the municipality has stated, “for now, the water coming out of our distribution system could present a risk to human health if ingested”.
Officials believe that a major contributing factor to the deterioration of the municipal water in Port Elizabeth and the rest of the municipality is the current drought. With “the resultant low dam levels and fluctuating reservoir levels”.
A Matter of Urgency
Officials could not give a set time frame. But the municipality wishes to ensure the public that “it’s treating this matter with the utmost urgency and seriousness”. So it is asking residents to boil the water as a precaution “for now”.
The municipality has already called an emergency meeting with the water services and the environmental health departments. And the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has said that residents can expect an update tomorrow morning, February 23, 2022. With an outline of the plans that it will put in place to rectify the situation.