The City of Johannesburg’s MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Department (MMC: EISD) Cllr. Michael Sun notes with concern regarding posts of typhoid outbreak circulating on social media recently. The social media posts come just days after MMC Sun’s visit to Johannesburg Water’s Cydna Laboratory in Houghton.

The purpose of MMC Sun’s visit to the Cydan laboratory was to conduct oversight on the work of the 31 laboratory analysists, Microbiologists, lab assistants and managers and to ensure that Johannesburg Water’s water supply to our residents is regulatory-compliant, is also of “Blue Drop” status and safe to drink.

Johannesburg Water’s laboratory team extracts about 4 700 water samples from facilities such as reservoirs, outlets and waterways per month and conducts a 23-parameter test on each sample, including tests for bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E.coli) and other heavy metals.
   
The parameters measured are well within the South African National Standards (SANS) for drinking water quality standards (SANS 241:2015) and no harmful bacteria had been detected at the Johannesburg Water’s potable water reservoirs in the recent tests.

Johannesburg Water undertakes a number of tests at its SANAS-accredited Cydna Laboratory. The laboratory team conducts daily sampling for microbiological analysis and chemical analysis on a number of selected sampling points across the distribution network in Johannesburg. The quality of drinking water in the distribution network on determinants tested (July to December 2021) met legislated standards. All physical, chemical, and biological health-related parameters were compliant to the SANS 241 drinking water quality standard.

We also note that Johannesburg Water’s source of supply, Rand Water, has also communicated on its website that it uses a disinfection water treatment process to inactivate bacteria such as Salmonella thyphi (Typhoid) and its compliance report shows that drinking water supplied by Rand Water complies with SANS 241.
 
As an extra precaution, Joburg Water has engaged with external and independent laboratories to conduct Typhoid tests for bacteria. Results of the latest tests will be communicated as soon as they are available.

MMC Sun calls upon the residents not to consume water from rivers and dams and avoid using such water for bathing or washing, as such untreated water may contain harmful bacteria and substances. It is also important not to share unconfirmed information of an outbreak and create unnecessary panic in the community.

Meanwhile, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases has said in a statement today (21 February) that there is no evidence that recent cases of Typhoid fever are linked to contaminated municipal water in any part of the country. The organization said this in response to social media posts saying cases identified in certain parts of the country are caused by contaminated municipal water. It says the statements are factually incorrect. It added that the areas affected have small, localized outbreaks, or clusters.

If residents have any concerns regarding the quality of drinking water, Johannesburg Water can be contacted on its 24-hour hotline: 0860 562 874 or Rand Water on 0800 029 999.

Issued by:

CLLR. MICHAEL SUN
MMC: ENVIRONMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICE DEPARTMENT
0828229340

21/02/2022