The department of water and sanitation said on Thursday it was keeping close watch on water boards nationally to see whether any shortage of chlorine was hampering operations.
This after a supplier reportedly put out a warning to its customers, including the City of Cape Town, on Wednesday that it might run out of chlorine due to problems such as supply chain challenges.
Chlorine is used to sterilise water, said Dr Anthony Turton, a University of Free State water expert. He said the chemical was a “final guarantee, if you like, that you have no biological life in the water”.
A shortage of the chemical could have “quite serious implications” for people’s health as the chemical kills parasites, bacteria and viruses that could cause waterborne disease outbreaks.
In a statement on Thursday, department of water and sanitation spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said the department was aware of an “incident related to possible liquid gas chlorine supply shortages from the supplier”.
“If this was to happen, the liquid gas chlorine shortages would have a possibility of affecting the treatment of potable water and effluent water managed by water service authorities (WSAs), metros and water boards,” said Ratau.
“The latest report from the supply company indicates that production is stable at 80%. As of [Wednesday], the supply company was packaging chlorine for the City of Cape Town in accordance with the existing agreement.”
Ratau told Business Day the supplier had reassured the department that “they do not see any emergency, they are still able to supply us”.
The department is convinced the supplier will do everything in its power to ensure “that water supply and effluent water treatment are not negatively impacted by the shortages”.
Ratau said the department had not received any reports that water boards were experiencing chlorine shortages. The department, he said, tracks daily reports across the country to determine “how the shortages are affecting WSAs, metros and water boards, if at all”, he said.
Through working with the affected parties and water specialists, the department said it would ensure the quality of water supplied to users and the environment were not compromised.
Water and sanitation minister Senzo Mchunu told Business Day that if there were to be a serious shortage of chlorine, the department would simply “not supply water”.
“We can’t supply unpurified drinking water because water must be treated before it is made available [to the public],” he said.
Mchunu said the recent heavy rains had led to muddying of dams, which in turn led to an increase in demand for water purifying chemicals.
“But we don’t anticipate that we will run out of chlorine. We are monitoring the situation,” he said.
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