Stellenbosch residents recently took to social media to voice concerns over the colour of the tap water in the town, with many reporting it being varying shades of yellow/brown.
MatieMedia spoke to local water experts who explained that the yellow/brown colour found in some of the tap water in Stellenbosch is caused by dissolved tannins. Tannins are a harmless substance caused by plants, including Fynbos.
This is according to Paul Joubert, manager of water treatment for Stellenbosch Municipality, and Hans van Kamp, founder and director of Kampwater, a water treatment company based in Stellenbosch.
Discoloured tap water is seen running in the basin of a Stellenbosch resident’s apartment. Water experts say the colour is caused by dissolved tannins. “It doesn’t look that clean, but it doesn’t affect the water quality – it’s not harmful,” said Hans van Kamp, founder and director of Kampwater, a water treatment company based in Stellenbosch. VIDEO: Sourced/Facebook
“Most of our water in Stellenbosch comes from dams like the one in the [Jonkershoek] nature reserve. If you go there, you will see that the water is dark,” said Van Kamp.
Van Kamp explained that the dark colour is caused by fynbos, which gives off tannins into the water. “So we call it tannins. That is what gives the colour. It doesn’t look that clean, but it doesn’t affect the water quality – it’s not harmful,” said Van Kamp.
The colour in the water is often a seasonal occurrence and “this is also the case with Stellenbosch”, said Joubert, via written correspondence with MatieMedia.
The colour of the water itself does not pose a health concern, it only has an aesthetic impact on water quality, said Joubert.
A resident of an estate in Stellenbosch shared what the tap water looked like before and after going through a portable water filter. PHOTO: Facebook/Chantell Rutherford
From the dams to our taps
“The raw (untreated) water is taken from the Eerste River (taken from Jonkershoek Valley) and the Idas Valley Dams,” said Joubert. The Idas Valley Water Treatment Plant then uses slow sand filters to “treat the raw water to remove solid contaminants”, he explained.
These filters are very effective but they are poor colour removers, said Joubert. He said the municipality is in the early phase of adding treatment technologies to assist with this.
The filtered water for the treatment plants in Stellenbosch is then “chlorinated (to disinfect) and subsequently passed through limestone to stabilise the water”, said Joubert.
“Our municipal drinking water is safe to consume and adheres to all SANS 241 standards for drinking water,” said Stuart Grobbelaar, spokesperson for Stellenbosch Municipality, via written correspondence with MatieMedia. PHOTO: Cody Hansen
“We test our disinfection effectiveness every two hours via free-chlorine tests,” he said.
Joubert mentioned that a nationwide chlorine shortage has led to the municipality using calcium hypochlorite as a disinfection chemical.
“I personally spend many hours optimising this disinfection method to ensure that the water is safe for the public to drink,” said Joubert.
The colour of the water itself does not pose a health concern. It only has an aesthetic impact on water quality, said Paul Joubert, manager of water treatment for Stellenbosch Municipality. PHOTO: Cody Hansen
Tap water safe to drink, says municipality
“Our municipal drinking water is safe to consume and adheres to all SANS 241 standards for drinking water,” confirmed Stuart Grobbelaar, spokesperson for Stellenbosch Municipality, via written correspondence with MatieMedia.
The SANS 241 standards state the minimum requirements for drinking water to be considered safe for human consumption, according to foodconsulting.co.za.
For safety, additional water samples were recently taken and sent to laboratories in Pretoria for full spectrum bacteriological and microscopic testing, said Grobbelaar. “The results came back positively with no cause for concern raised.”
Water flows through a water furrow next to Van Riebeeck Street in Stellenbosch. These furrows are located throughout the town of Stellenbosch, with the water mainly being used to irrigate people’s gardens. It is not meant for human consumption. PHOTO: Cody Hansen