Umamah Bakharia 

The Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology at the Durban University of Technology has assured residents that eThekwini’s tap water is safe for drinking.

This follows concern that was raised about sewage flowing into river and dams because of the lack of working sewage pumps.

Speaking to Radio Islam,  the Institute’s Professor Faizal Bux, who was part of a team that analyzed Covid-19 community infection rates through wastewater samplings says the water is now safe to drink.

“I can say with confidence that the water in the Durban area satisfies your national standards so the microbiological standards, the tap water satisfies that,” he says.

The tests were conducted throughout the eThekwini region tracing at least 14 samples that confirmed the water is indeed safe.

“There was a lot of concern in the media recently regarding diarrheal outbreak and that’s the reason why we conducted the analyses,” says Prof Bux.

Adding that the pollution in Durban has worsened since the collapse of infrastructure following the April floods.