Residents in Belmont Park and surrounds blame the stinky, earthy tasting tap water reportedly caused by geosmin in water sources for a spate of illnesses in recent weeks.
Several adults and children had all fallen ill with a case of diarrhoea and vomiting during January.
Rhenda Kruger says all four her grandchildren had fallen ill after the water started tasting and smelling bad in December.
“I retched when I smelled the water. It smells and tastes rotten and is undrinkable and we cannot use it for cooking either,” she says. They also found a worm and strange dark brown debris floating in the water. Kruger has been buying bottled water since December spending close to R100 per week.
After Kruger reported the water to the City, a water inspector visited her home to look at the water.
“He informed us that the odour and bad taste in the water is caused by geosmin and was safe for human consumption. He looked at the water but did not drink it and also didn’t test it,” she says.
Geosmin, according to public health expert Dr Jo Barnes from the department of global health at
Stellenbosch University, is a naturally occurring compound with a very strong, earthy taste and odor that occurs in late summer or early autumn when the water becomes warm and levels in rivers and dams are lower.
Barnes says the geosmin compound is not chemically toxic but does have a very unpleasant smell which can cause sensitive individuals to become nauseous with an upset stomach, vomiting and headaches.
Natasha de Jager, also from Belmont Park, says her two small children fell ill with vomiting and diarrhoea three weeks ago.
“They were both at the doctor and I had to take off work to look after them. We now buy bottled water for cooking and drinking. We simply cannot drink the tap water as it stinks and tastes terrible. Even in the toilets it has such an awful stink we have to add strong chemicals,” she says.
Nicolette Langeveld from Kleinbegin says both her, her husband and both their children were sick during the same time.
“Our water too is undrinkable and we got sick right after we first detected it,” she says.
Kruger says although the stink has improved a bit, the water is still not usable.
“We can only use the water for showering and doing laundry.”
Several residents in Brackenfell also complain about the stench and taste of the water, saying they are unable to drink it.
One such, Martin Joubert from De Oude Spruit, says their water has been tasting bad since last year June.
“Even if we boil it, it stinks and is unusable. We have been buying bottled drinking water for eight months now,” he says.
On 6 January the City of Cape Town issued a media statement wherein it confirmed that the City was at the time experiencing high levels of geosmin in raw water supply from the Theewaterskloof Dam.
“This is affecting the taste and smell of the water supplied from the Faure and Blackheath Water Treatment Plants to various areas across Cape Town. The City is monitoring the situation as part of the water treatment precess which is being enhanced by the dosing of powdered activated carbon during this process to reduce the effect of geosmin. However, it may take some time for the taste and smell of the water to normalise,” the statement reads.
At the time, the City reassured residents who have detected an earthy flavour to their tap water that it remains safe to drink and is compliant with SANS241 standards.
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