- allege water infested with “worms”
- WASCO promises to resolve problem
Mathatisi Sebusi
COMMUNITIES across the Maseru city are in distress over their drinking water which they say is infested with ‘worms’.
The community members accuse Water and Sewage Company (WASCO) of not caring about their well-being.
They say that they have reported the matter to WASCO on numerous occasions without a response. As far as they are concerned, the water supply company has ignored their pleas, and effectively refused to come to their rescue.
However, WASCO Director of Operations and Maintenance, Mahlomola Senamolele, told the Lesotho Times on Tuesday this week, the company was aware of the situation and doing all it can to address it.
While Mr Senamole admitted that the water was indeed contaminated, he said it was with midge flies and not worms as being alleged.
The midge flies, according to Mr Senamolele, are the result of high numbers of mosquitos invading WASCO water reservoirs and breeding therein.
He said the mosquitos lay eggs in the water. When the eggs get in contact with the soil and, coupled with the high temperatures the country is experiencing, as a result of climate change, the eggs then transform into midge flies, which when in their pupal stage, resemble tiny worms.
Mr Senamolele said the midge flies were not dangerous to humans if consumed, and WASCO has on standby, a task team which tested the water for safety weekly.
However, Khubetsoana and Sekameng community members say they are not prepared to compromise their health by drinking the contaminated water.
But since they have no other options, they have taken to sieving the water with white tablecloths first.
After sieving, the water is then boiled before consumption to avoid contracting waterborne diseases.
Community member, Matela Molotsi, narrated to the Lesotho Times how on Monday last week, he discovered that his water and that of the whole neighbourhood was infested with the ‘worms’ and immediately reported the matter to WASCO.
But WASCO did not come to the village to see the contamination for themselves or at least say how they would address the challenge, he complained.
Mr Matela said they then reported WASCO to its regulator, the Lesotho Electricity and Water Authority (LEWA). LEWA in turn advised them to keep the water as proof, and to date, they still have bowls filled with the contaminated water. Still no one from WASCO has yet showed up.
He said whole communities were affected, hence people were compelled to boil water before consuming it.
“WASCO does not care about us. We collected and kept this water since last week so that they can see what we are talking about. I am even thinking of taking this water to their offices as they show no interest in addressing the issue,” Mr Matela said.
He said that members of the Le-cop community in Khubetsoana had as a result been nursing stomach-aches and diarrhoea which they believed were caused by the contaminated water.
According to Mr Matela, last week’s case was not a first occurrence. They had this year alone made three separate reports to WASCO, but to date no action had been taken.
“There is nothing much we can do about the situation; all we can do is boil the water and continue consuming it. This is not the first time we have a problem of this kind,” he said.
Another community facing a similar challenge, is that of Sekamaneng, a village bordering Maseru and Berea districts.
Masenate Phosholi narrated to the Lesotho Times how she found ‘worms’ in her water bucket.
She said on seeing the ‘worms’, she rushed back to the tap to collect more water and confirm if indeed the ‘worms’ were from the tap. And her biggest fear of having consumed water infested with ‘worms’ was confirmed.
“I saw the ‘worms’ in the bucket. I suspected that they were from the tap. When I got to the tap, I indeed discovered that the water is infested with ‘worms’,” she said.
“We do not have any other option but to boil the water before consuming it. My fear is that I discovered the ‘worms’ having already drunk the water. That water poses a risk to my health.”
She said the water was infested with ‘worms’ so much that she had to sieve it with a tablecloth before boiling it.
Ms Phosholi is a tenant in Sekamaneng with 11 other neighbours. She said this is not the first time their water was infested with ‘worms’. She said during the previous incident, the water was cut for two to three days, and WASCO’s explanation was that it was cleaning its water reservoirs.
“The last time we saw the ‘worms,’ water supply was suspended and the explanation given was that WASCO was cleaning its tanks. But it is obvious that the intervention did not work as the ‘worms’ are back again,” she said.
WASCO’s Director of Operations and Maintenance, Mr Senamolele, insisted they were doing all they can to resolve the situation.
Mr Senamolele said the midge flies were not dangerous to humans if consumed. They were caused by high temperatures as a result of climate change, he reasoned.
“We washed the water reservoirs in November 2023. We were equally surprised to receive more reports on the same issue in December.
“We are working relentlessly to resolve the problem and have started cleaning all our tanks. We will later clean all water pipelines.”
He said WASCO first discovered the midge flies sometime between 2019 and 2020. A resolution was then made to wash water reservoirs on a quarterly basis.
He said they also had a task team testing the water on a weekly basis to ensure that it is safe for consumption.
LEWA’s Consumer Affairs and Communications Manager, Teboho Senthebane, told the Lesotho Times this week they were not aware of the latest case.
She however said that following a public outcry related to previous incidents of water contamination, they had engaged WASCO and directed the company to investigate the complaints and address the situation accordingly.
