Potch and its water: Students and experts speak out

Many students at the North-West University (NWU) Potchefstroom campus prefer to buy water every day because they do not like the taste of the water, while some say the water has made them sick.

threestreamsmedia recently reported about a similar situation at the Vaal campus, where many students prefer to buy water because they do not trust the municipal water.

In Potchefstroom, also, students walk around every day with 5 litre bottles to purchase water. For some students, it is not ideal to drink tap water in Potchefstroom because they said the water has made them ill previously, whereas some said that they got a runny tummy from it. For others it is a matter of taste and they say that tap water does not taste good.

Katlego Mogomotsi (24), Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) student, is one of the students who has had a bad experience with drinking tap water in Potchefstroom. Sharing his experience with treestreamsmedia, Mogomotsi said when he was new in Potchefstroom and doing his first year at the University, he felt sick after drinking tap water and he has never drunk it since. 

“Well, I did not seek medical attention from this, but made a conclusion myself that water made me sick,” he said. Mogomotsi said that he made this conclusion because he does not remember having anything that day that would make him sick. “Besides, everybody complains about water here, so that contributed too,” he said.

Ever since his first year Mogomotsi has been buying purified water and uses tap water only for cooking. “I don’t drink tap water here, even if I run out of water overnight. I would rather have a soft drink instead,” he said.

On campus chilled water is supplied in selected buildings such as the library, but most students still buy water.

Karabo Moalusi (25), final year education student, said everybody reacts differently to water in the town. “Personally, I don’t drink tap water here because I get diarrhoea from it. But if I don’t have water for the night, I do drink it and deal with the runny tummy,” he said. 

Moalusi said that he would not say water in Potchefstroom is not safe to drink, but he thinks people have different reactions to it. “I mean, I know people who drink tap water and are never sick from it. People who have never bought bottled water ever since they came here,” he added.

According to Louis Jacobs, NWU spokesperson, Potchefstroom campus receives its water from the city council and there is no indication that water supplied by city council is unsafe. He said that if campus water were making students sick, then the rest of the town would be sick because the water on campus is the same as water on the Bult and the entire town.

“One can only comment that the water is making people sick if such has been proven. This means lab results after testing, corroborating that the water was the cause of their illness,” he said. According to Jacobs, there are no water issues that have been reported on campus and at the city council.

Professor Carlos Bezuidenhout, a microbiology and water specialist, said that he has been following the water quality situation in Potchefstroom for 20 years now. He said the quality of drinking in Potchefstroom has never been a problem. “I drink the water directly from the tap and it has not once affected my health,” he said.

Commenting on the availability of water in selected buildings, Jacobs said that departments or buildings are responsible for their own water. He said that buildings with purifying systems had these installed by the departments of those buildings at their own expense. He said that there is no building without drinking water on campus. “All buildings have drinking water, seeing that they all have bathrooms. There is no difference between the water in bathrooms than any other space on campus,” he said. 

Jacobs confirmed that water on campus is safe because city council water is considered safe.

There are ways to filter unsafe water yourself, if you need to clean water that is unsafe to drink. However, this will not change the taste of the water significantly, it will just make it safer to drink.

It is very important when using bleach to disinfect water that you use the correct amount, because too much is dangerous. For a one-litre bottle, two drops are enough. You need to leave the water for about 30 minutes before drinking.

The bleach filtration method is only recommended if you know the water has been contaminated, and is not necessary in Potchefstroom.

• threestreamsmedia approached the city council in Potchefstroom for comment by email but we have not received a response by the time of publication.