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Hundreds of children fall ill after Tshwane fails to chlorinate water

Public was not warned that water was unsafe for drinking

Bronkhorstspruit resident Nicky Sibanda told GroundUp her one-year-old son had to be treated for diarrhoea after drinking the discoloured tap water. Archive photo: Warren Mabona

More than 400 people, mostly children under four, fell ill in Bronkhorstspruit and nearby areas this month.
For three weeks, Tshwane didn’t chlorinate water drawn from a river polluted with sewage, and didn’t warn residents.
Residents may use tap water only to flush toilets until it is safe again.

Contaminated drinking water in Tshwane has led to hundreds of cases of acute gastrointestinal illnesses. Government investigations have found that the City of Tshwane failed to chlorinate water for three weeks, resulting in high levels of E. coli and other cloriforms.
Between 7 and 18 October…

Read More: Hundreds of children fall ill after Tshwane fails to chlorinate water.

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