Resident of Johannesburg It has been experiencing extended water outages for the past two weeks. This is a new low after months of deterioration. Craig Sheridan, professor in the School of Geography, Archeology and Environment at the University of the Witwatersrand, reveals the risks this poses to the city's drinking water.
What can get into water and make you sick?
Two things.
The water may contain toxic chemicals or disease-causing pathogens. They cause different diseases and have different treatment strategies.
As a general rule, South African water utilities are able to remove almost all chemicals, making the water safe to drink. Water treatment disinfects water and kills harmful bacteria and viruses. This is done primarily with chlorine, but with a slight overdose of water. This leaves a small amount of chlorine in the water for “residual” disinfection. Residual chlorine flows with the water through the pipes to the reservoir and into your home, preventing pathogens from the water. Pathogens include viruses, bacteria, and small animals such as insects and larvae.
This is why tap water sometimes smells like chlorine. This is good. It means your water is safe.
Is my tap water safe to drink?
In principle, the answer here is yes, but perhaps only if you live in a large city. When water is continuously supplied, the pressure in the pipes prevents contaminants from entering the pipeline. And if the water contains residual chlorine, it means that the supply to your house is good.
Unfortunately, this depends on the drinking water treatment plant functioning properly, which is not always the case. The Department of Water and Sanitation carries out an audit process for water treatment plants and the water they supply. The results will be published as a Blue Drop report. Johannesburg is classified as having excellent chemical and microbiological supply quality. However, although Gauteng's overall score remains high, it has declined.
Nationwide, 46% of drinking water is classified as “unacceptable,” and many towns and cities have seen a significant decline over the past decade. The latest Blue Drop report shows that the quality of drinking water supplies is declining across South Africa.
The water supply stopped for quite a while. Is my tap water safe to drink?
Unfortunately, depending on a variety of factors, the answer to this question may not be “yes.”
If there is no water in the pipes and there is an underground sewage leak near the water pipes, or if there is contaminated rainwater near the pipes, there is a real possibility that contaminated water can enter the pipes. Alternatively, if maintenance work is done on the pipeline, as happens after a major leak, there is no real way to prevent soil or external untreated water from entering the pipeline.
Read: Joburg water is safe to drink, test results suggest
When the water supply is restored, this “first flush” can introduce contaminants into the pipes. There's no way to know what's going on underground around your pipes, so it's wise to protect yourself when the water returns. You can protect yourself by running the faucet until the water is completely clear. We recommend waiting an additional minute after the air has finished coming out of the pipes, or until it is completely gone. Collect this water in a bucket and use it to water your plants and flush your toilet. Once the water is clear, the water quality should be similar to the bulk supply.
If you are concerned about this, please boil the water before use.
If the water remains brown or discolored, report it and drink purified water.
I get water from a mobile water tanker. Is this safe to drink?
The answer here should be “yes”. But too often, unscrupulous and roving water tanker suppliers sell water, especially in areas where safe tap water is not available.
With water supplies becoming unreliable, the state has turned to businesses to provide water to communities. This has become big business, as evidenced by the scale of the Johannesburg vacuum truck (Honeysucker) and water tanker tenders. As a result, fraud and collusion are on the rise.
Unfortunately, for more than four million South Africans, not having access to running water is an everyday reality. In this case, it is wise to purify the water.
What diseases can make drinking water unsafe? How are they spread?
There are many waterborne diseases that can cause very serious illness or even death.
When water is sent to a laboratory for testing, it is first tested for microorganisms such as: Escherichia colior Escherichia coli.
Escherichia coli Found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded animals. It doesn't necessarily cause illness. However, if you find it in the water, you are absolutely certain that the water is contaminated with feces that has not been properly treated. This is why it is used as a screening tool for more serious diseases that are also spread through feces.
Not all water is included Escherichia coli There will be pathogens.However, the existence of Escherichia coli This is a serious warning that other pathogenic microorganisms, such as cholera, are likely present in the water.
Cholera is caused by bacteria found in the feces of a sick person. It is highly contagious and spread primarily through contact with contaminated drinking water, food, or unwashed hands. Symptoms of cholera are watery diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps.
If I store water in a bottle, how long does it take to become undrinkable?
This is a difficult question to answer. There are many factors that can cause water quality to deteriorate. For example, is the lid of the plastic bottle open? How warm is the water? Is the container very clean or just rinsed? Without analyzing the actual water, we cannot fully guarantee the safety of the water.
The Water Research and Development Center conducts research, partially funded by the Water Research Board, to develop test strips for rapid analysis of drinking water quality that are easily understood by the public. .
Read: Bottled water contains more plastic particles than previously thought
However, it is recommended not to store water for too long. Preferably within one day. In that case, boil or purify the water before drinking it.
Is it difficult to purify water?
The University of the Witwatersrand commissioned a short animation in all 11 of South Africa's official languages, as well as French and Portuguese, about how to prevent the spread of cholera and how to purify water to ensure safety.
We also shared guidance on how to purify water to make it safe.
- This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license