The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube Municipal Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council has declared that the consumption of water from any council borehole is both unsafe and illegal and they won’t be held liable for any ailments caused by the drinking of this water. This revelation comes at a time when the local authority has previously advised residents to opt for borehole water as an alternative source of water during any water crisis and even declaring that the water was safe for consumption as council officials conducted regular tests.
Even the latest council report purports that out of its 131 boreholes tested since May 2014, “generally, for most boreholes the quality was acceptable”.
Boreholes have been sunk by council in almost every high density suburb in the city since 2004 to give residents an alternative source of water in times of water shortages.
However, Engineer Simela Dube, the city’s director of engineering services, last week declared that residents should just stop drinking and cooking with borehole water. He said both council and private boreholes were unsafe.
He also revealed that council by-laws clearly stipulated that drinking borehole water was illegal.
“Basically boreholes are unsafe. Yes, we can test the water and say that it is consumable after boiling but to be frank, council by-laws prohibit the drinking of this water. No one can give a 100 percent guarantee on borehole water, it is virtually impossible.
“One thing we can never control is the contamination that is occurring underground. That water is only good for gardening not for consumption hence at the end of the day we can continue arguing on the number of boreholes tested but my honest advice is that people should just avoid this water,” said Eng Dube.
Sunday News also managed to get a hold of the council by-laws and according to Sections 44 and 45 it is clearly stated that no person shall consume water from a borehole and in the event that they use this water it should be approved by a health officer appointed by the local authority.
“No person shall use water from a borehole for drinking purposes or for watering animals . . . the owner or occupier of any stand to which a supply of municipal water is not available and in respect of which water from a borehole is used for domestic purposes shall, at all times, comply with the requirements of the medical officer appointed by the council with regards to such water.
“No person shall cause or permit any water derived from a borehole or other source, including the council’s raw and reclaimed water supplies to enter any pipe connected with the council’s domestic water supply. The council’s domestic water supply system shall not be connected to any pipe or system of pipes which themselves are fed with water from a borehole or other source,” reads part of the by-law.
Engineer Khonzaphi Dube, a chemical engineer and member of the Water Institute of Southern Africa, also noted that it was virtually impossible for anyone to fully determine whether borehole water was 100 percent consumable.
He revealed that while tests were conducted, they were complex and expensive and had to be done regularly. This, he said, further increased the cost of such tests.
“Dealing with underground water is complex because it has a number of determinant facts which include agricultural activities, where the use of fertilisers and pesticides may sip into the ground. Industrial activities also play a factor and even leaking landfills or plumbing in the area.
“Most of the times it is virtually impossible to determine what is happening underground. Yes, there are some tests that can be conducted but they are just too much and very expensive. The cost is further skyrocketed in a scenario where we are testing water for consumability as the tests have to be done regularly,” said Eng Dube.
He said some of the tests that had to be conducted include the acidity and alkalinity of the water, total dissolved solids, hardness, coliform bacteria, specific conductance, organics and tests for major ions which include nitrates, sodium, chloride, sulphates, calcium, iron, mangenese, flouride and bicarbonates to mention but a few.
“When I say these tests should be done regularly, I mean almost daily; which goes to show that this will be an insurmountable task when looking at a large number of boreholes. This is why to an certain extent I support this council position because no one can really be sure that the water from the boreholes is 100 percent safe,” said Eng Dube.
A couple of years ago, Bulawayo residents were forced to opt for the use of borehole water after the local authority adopted a tight water shedding exercise which saw residents at one point going for 96 hours without supplies to help conserve available water.
