Valentine's day to mark end to smelly Bulawayo water

The Bulawayo City Council has gone on a limb promising the problem of smelly tap water would end in the city on 14 February.

Residents have been complaining of muddy or rusty and smelly water from the taps. The water has prompted residents to accuse council of supplying contaminated water to ratepayers.

In a statement, council's senior public relations officer Nesisa Mpofu said the problem would go away on Valentine's day.

She said the odour comes from the mud that has accumulated in the sedimentation tanks at Criterion Treatment Works, adding "High temperatures experienced in the recent past have resulted in sludge turnover leading to release of the odour."

"Council hopes that the cleaning of the tanks would be complete by the 14th of February 2014 and after that the smell is expected to disappear. Cleaning of the sedimentation tanks has already commenced.

To date, a lot of progress has been made in the clearing of mud in the sedimentation tanks at Criterion. The first of the two compartments are now complete and we are currently halfway through the process of clearing the second segmentation tank," said Mpofu.

She said council was working hard to ensure water coming out of the plant is sufficiently chlorinated and also safe for human consumption. Mpofu said white or milky water coming from taps was harmless and should not worry them.
 
"It is caused by accumulation of air in the empty or partially filled pipelines. The air dissolves in water under pressure giving milky/white water when the tap is opened and normally clears out from the bottom up," she said.

However, she said rust coloured or reddish brown water should not be consumed as it could cause health complications.

"Iron deposits build up in the pipelines over a long period, due to rusting of galvanised pipes. After water cuts the rust is washed out resulting in reddish-brown discoloured water. Some of the rust settles out while some will remain suspended in the water. In addition to rust, low reservoir levels cause carryover of sludge into the pipelines thus further worsening accumulation of sludge in the pipes," she explained.

She urged residents to find alternative uses for the water, like filling toilet cisterns or watering gardens, instead of letting it run, as it was also boiled.

Mpofu said muddy water would be due to soil that enters the pipeline during a pipe-burst and suggested residents could also use the water in their gardens.

She said the smell or taste in water was also caused by substances produced by algae in water (tiny water plants), which she said usually caused earthy, musty or fishy smell or taste.

Mpofu urged residents to boil such water before using it. She encouraged residents to immediately inform the city's engineering services department on (09) 242897 when they faced problems with the quality of water.