THE Bulawayo City Council has attributed the muddy odour in tap water on mud that has accumulated in the sedimentation tanks at Criterion treatment works.
MTHANDAZO NYONI OWN CORRESPONDENT
Residents have complained about the unusual water taste, which they feared could lead to disease outbreaks. But in a statement, council’s senior public relations officer, Nesisa Mpofu said high temperatures experienced in the past few weeks had resulted in “sludge turnover” that caused the odour.
“Residents are advised that the odour (is coming) from the mud that has accumulated in the sedimentation tanks at Criterion treatment works,” she said.
“Cleaning of the sedimentation tanks has already commenced (and) to date, a lot of progress has been made in the clearing of mud in the sedimentation tanks at Criterion. The first of the two compartments are now complete and we are currently halfway through the process of clearing the second segmentation tank.”
She said the council hopes that the cleaning of the tanks would be complete by Friday.
Mpofu said council was working hard to ensure water coming out of the plant is sufficiently chlorinated and also safe for human consumption.
She warned residents against consumption of reddish-brown coloured water as that will lead to loss of life or diseases. She urged them to use such water for watering gardens or to fill toilet cisterns.