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Wednesday, December 20, 2006 - Web posted at 7:04:29 GMT Karibib complaints about 'dirty' water DENVER ISAACSKARIBIB residents have been forced to make do with brownish-red "unpleasant" water since November, a situation apparently caused by high levels of manganese and iron in their supply. |
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Upset residents say they've taken up their frustrations with Namibia Water Corporation (Namwater), but this does not seem to have helped much. "The water has been like this for months. Namwater has promised to fix the problem, and last week the water was actually okay, but since Saturday it has been back to this," one resident said. Replying to residents' health concerns, Namwater's Namib Area Manager yesterday appealed for calm. Karibib receives its water from the Swakoppoort Dam, he said, which has been experiencing an increase in manganese and iron content. "But we added chemicals to treat the water about two weeks ago, and we are winning the fight," he said. "It's just that over the weekend we experienced some trouble again, but we've managed to get the water better again this afternoon," he said. He appealed to residents of the town to not panic, as Namwater is apparently gaining control of the situation. Manganese is a mineral that naturally occurs in rocks and soil, and is a natural constituent of the human diet. If present in water in quantities of around 0,05 mg is known to impart a brownish-red colour such as experienced by Karibib residents, as well as a possible strange odour or taste. However, according to a Public Health Fact Sheet of the Department of Public Health in the American State of Connecticut, manganese only becomes a concern when concentrations are about ten times higher than have been measured in Karibib. |
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