At Stellenbosch University a stomach bug is feared to the extent of having its own name and lore. This is “Stellie belly”. SMF News spoke to students, Stellenbosch University, municipal officials and representatives of the Western Cape Department of Health & Wellness to explore the concept.
The orientation period, or “Welcoming”, held at the end of January and beginning of February of each year at Stellenbosch University (SU), is filled with entertainment, bonding activities, and guidance which could stick for years to come for first-year students.
Saadia Kabil, who is now in her second year at the university says she still uses a piece of advice she was given during the Welcoming of 2024.
The LLB student and now vice-primaria of student residence, Harmonie, recalls that her former roommate suggested she refrains from drinking the town’s tap water.
Kabil’s roommate familiarised her with the idea of “Stellie belly”. “Stellie belly” is a term coined by SU students for any form of stomach bug or gastroenteritis. And many students believe that they contract this after drinking tap water in Stellenbosch, says Kabil.
I had been advised by multiple people who have had “Stellie belly” not to drink it – and in my first year I decided to drink it anyway.
Kabil says her former roommate shared that she contracted a stomach bug during Welcoming in her first year, in 2022. The roommate believed that she had contracted this after drinking tap water.
Since then Kabil only drinks bottled water when in Stellenbosch.
Similar to Kabil’s former roommate, Elcke Pio contracted a stomach bug during Welcoming in her first year in 2023.
“I had been advised by multiple people who have had “Stellie belly” not to drink it – and in my first year I decided to drink it anyway,” she says.
Pio is a third-year BA Humanities student at SU and was the vice-primaria of commuter student society (CSC), Venustia, for the 2024/2025 period.
But is there any truth in the widely-held student belief that water is to blame for the so-called Stellie belly?
The municipality sets the record straight
Stuart Grobbelaar, communications manager of Stellenbosch Municipality, refuted claims of poor water quality and said that the water supplied by Stellenbosch Municipality is safe to drink.
“Our water is regularly tested by both municipal officials and independent laboratories to ensure that it meets and exceeds the minimum water quality standards set by national regulations,” says Grobbelaar.
In February 2024, the municipality published a statement on its website addressing the safety of its water and publicised the latest water test results at the time.
The results proved the water to be safe to drink, according to the statement.
This same water is used at SU’s Stellenbosch campus. All the university’s drinking water is supplied by Stellenbosch Municipality, says Martin Viljoen, who is the spokesperson of SU, on behalf of Campus Health Services.
The lawn outside of one of Stellenbosch Municipality’s buildings on Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch. The lawn is watered by sprinklers using treated greywater, according to Stuart Grobbelaar, communications manager of Stellenbosch Municipality. PHOTO: Iman Allie
From the dam to the tap
Stellenbosch Municipality receives its water from the Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) and the City of Cape Town, according to Grobbelaar.
“[The WCWSS is] a complex and interlinked system that supplies water to municipalities and users across the Western Cape region,” he says.
Grobbelaar explains that the WCWSS mainly draws water from Theewaterskloof Dam, Wemmershoek Dam, Steenbras Lower Dam, Steenbras Upper Dam, Voëlvlei Dam and the Berg River Dam.
The City of Cape Town also draws water from the WCWSS, according to him.
“This means that the water supplied through both networks comes from the same interconnected system and maintains the same high quality,” says Grobbelaar.
The water is then treated and made safe to drink by the municipal water treatment plants, according to him.
SU’s Stellenbosch campus receives water from the Theewaterskloof Dam, which is treated at the municipal plants in Ida’s Valley and Paradyskloof, according to Viljoen. But Viljoen explains that the university also has eight boreholes, which are used for irrigation.
The municipality uses water not suitable for drinking, and greywater, to irrigate public gardens, flowerbeds and trees, according to Grobbelaar.
A flowerbed on the pavement outside one of Stellenbosch Municipality’s buildings on the corner of Church Street and Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch. Flowerbeds are typically irrigated with treated greywater, says Stuart Grobbelaar, communications manager of Stellenbosch Municipality. PHOTO: Iman Allie
SU once used treated greywater from residences’ showers and washing machines to flush toilets at its campuses, following the drought in 2017, according to the university website.
But greywater is no longer in use and the plants used to treat them are now non-operational.
“The plant, situated behind Majuba residence, is not operational this year and is switched off until severe water restrictions are experienced again,” says Viljoen with regards to the water treatment plant used by SU’s Stellenbosch campus.
This is one of Stellenbosch University (SU’s) water treatment plants, which is located behind Majuba residence, according to Martin Viljoen, who is the spokesperson of SU. PHOTO: Iman Allie
An illness of many causes
The causes of students’ stomach bugs may vary and are not necessarily related to poor water quality, says Viljoen, on behalf of Campus Health Services.
According to Campus Health Services, gastroenteritis can be caused by food poisoning, side-effects of medication, irritable bowel syndrome, seasonal viral infections, poor hand hygiene, and allergies to foodstuffs, says Viljoen.
Students are not the only people who suffer from gastroenteritis in Stellenbosch.
Children are the most vulnerable to contracting gastroenteritis in Stellenbosch, according to Sandra Maritz, Communications Officer for the Cape Winelands District at the Western Cape Department of Health & Wellness.
According to Maritz, Stellenbosch Provincial Hospital sees a spike in children with gastroenteritis between November and March.
“Hot weather allows bacteria to grow faster, and when combined with poor sanitation, it increases the risk [of contracting gastroenteritis],” says Maritz.
Seasonal spikes
Campus Health Services sees the most students with stomach bugs in the period of February to April and shortly after the September recess, according to Viljoen.
“Each year from November to March, we see more children falling ill with diarrhoeal disease,” says Maritz on the spike in child patients with gastroenteritis at Stellenbosch Provincial Hospital.
Water @ Neelsie, which opened on 1 February, is a shop specialising in the sale of different types of treated water, according to Annamarie Schutte, owner of the business. Shortly after opening, students started complaining to the staff of Water @ Neelsie about falling ill with stomach bugs during Welcoming, according to Schutte. PHOTO: Iman Allie
The cost of personal protection
“The most important message about seasonal viral infections [stomach bug outbreaks] is always practising good hand hygiene – washing hands after using the bathroom to ensure personal protection,” says Viljoen, on behalf of Campus Health Services, on how students can prevent contracting stomach bugs.
According to Maritz, simple actions, like washing hands with soap when preparing food, and keeping young children up to date with their free routine immunisations, can go a long way in protecting them.
Pio’s safety measures include using a water filter jug to treat the tap water before drinking it, while Kabil avoids the water entirely. She either purchases bottled water or pays to have her bottles refilled.
“It does add up […] if you calculate all the money you spend on refills,” she says about the cost of purchasing water.
Stellenbosch University once used treated greywater from residences’ showers and washing machines to flush toilets at its campuses, following the drought in 2017, according to the university website. PHOTO: Iman Allie