19 Mar 2014

Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) general manager, Mr Mathews Sebina has advised Kanye residents to boil drinking water to avoid contracting diarrhoea that has ripped through the village lately.

Mr Sebina confirmed in an interview that indeed drinking water in some parts of the village, especially areas around Old camp or Mmasekou was contaminated. Mr Sebina said faecal elements were detected in the water during tests. The tests followed reports of stomach pains by people who drank the water.

He said he did not know how the water might have mixed with faecal concentrations but suspected somewhat the water table had been raised by recent heavy rains such that portable water combined with faecal matter.

However, he could neither deny nor confirm allegations that a portable water line had combined with a waste water line. However, he said his organisation was replacing all the pipes.

Mr Sebina said WUC had since cut off water supply to the area and was now using a water bowser to provide water to the affected residents. He appealed to Kanye residents to report any suspicious cases in the village.

Meanwhile, the Southern District Council (SDC) senior public relations officer, Mr Thapelo Timuno has also confirmed that the water was indeed contaminated.

Mr Timuno said SDC recently took the water samples to the laboratory after receiving complaints of stomach pains by residents while others were admitted for diarrhoea. The location was predominantly inhabited by SDC employees.

He expressed fear that the contamination might have spread to areas such as Lodubeng, Moshupa, and Good Hope where they also received complaints thus advised WUC to expand their surveillance beyond just the old camp area.

He also advised residents to take precautionary measures like boiling the water before use. No fatalities have been recorded, he said. ENDS