27 February 2024
The Municipality has become aware of allegations concerning substandard potable (drinking) water quality, and it wishes to address these concerns directly. There is no factual basis for the claims made, as the water quality is regularly tested by oversight authorities, including independent laboratories, ensuring compliance with all safety standards.
Social media posts suggesting the presence of limestone with heavy metal toxicity in the water supply, as well as allegations related to arsenic content, are unfounded. The Municipality strongly advises against the dissemination of unverified information. Limestone used to stabilise water does not contain harmful heavy metals and is a globally accepted method to prevent infrastructure corrosion.
The Municipality assures residents that heavy metals and arsenic are routinely tested by an external independent laboratory (CSIR) and consistently meet the requirements of the SANS 241:2015 specification. Contrary to misinformation, Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems are incredibly effective, removing over 98% of arsenic from water.
For further transparency, the Municipality is making public the latest full test results for various risk parameters, all of which fall well within the specified SANS limits, confirming the safety and quality of the drinking water:
| SANS 241 limits | Stellenbosch Municipality | |
| pH | 5 – 9.7 | 6.8 |
| Arsenic | <10 μg/l | < 0.05 μg/l |
| Antimony | < 20 μg/l | < 0.05 μg/l |
| Cadmium | < 3 μg/l | < 0.05 μg/l |
| Copper | < 2 mg/l | < 0.02 mg/l |
| Cyanide | < 0.2 mg/l | < 0.01 mg/l |
| Lead | < 10 μg/l | < 0.5 μg/l |
| Mercury | < 6 μg/l | < 1 μg/l |
| Selenium | < 40 μg/l | < 0.05 μg/l |
| Uranium | < 30 μg/l | < 0.05 μg/l |
| E-Coli | Undetectable | None found |
| Trihalomethanes | < 560 μg/l | 16 μg/l |
