Walvis municipality explains smelly water – Windhoek Observer

Niël Terblanché

OVER the past few days, residents of the Narraville residential area of Walvis Bay have complained bitterly about the foul smell of drinking water that spouted from taps in their homes.

The Municipality of Walvis Bay took note of the complaints and officials from the water section as well as the chief of Health Services responded immediately to these concerns to investigate the matter.

According to a statement issued by the Public Relations Department of the local authority, the residential area experienced a water interruption for approximately eight hours on Tuesday due to technical repairs at the Narraville Pump Station.

Concerns about the foul smell of the water surfaced after the interruption.

“Upon investigation, it was observed that chlorine levels were low as a result of the water remaining stagnant in the affected pipeline,” the statement said.

According to the local authority, it is reasonable to conclude that the change in the smell of the water was caused as a result of the water being retained in the network for an extended period.

To mitigate the effects of stagnant water, the water management team flushed the pipelines on Wednesday.

“The Health Division has taken a bacteriological sample for testing and the results will be available on Friday. Furthermore, the team took chlorine samples early on Thursday and levels were found to be normal again, which is an indication that potable water is now flowing through the network,” the statement said.

The local authority gave the assurance to the residents of Narraville that the situation will normalize.

The municipality said that residents should note that after a period of water supply closure, the colour and smell of water may be different when the tap is opened.

To avoid water wastage, residents were advised to run their taps for a while and use the smelly water for gardening purposes.

“We would like to assure residents that the issue has been attended to with urgency and we will continue to monitor the situation,” the municipality said in the statement.