‘‘Stinky’’ Water Safe For Drinking, NWSC Tells Gulu Residents

An official from National Water and Sewerage Cooperation (NWSC) have defended the hygiene of water being rationed in Gulu Municipality saying it is safe for drinking despite complaints from residents  that  the water has a fishy stink.

On Thursday last week, NWSC resumed supply of tap water to Gulu Municipality residents after nearly a week of failing to supply water after the main water reservoir, Oyitino dam, dried up due to the prolonged dry spell.

However many residents are complaining that the water in their taps has a stench forcing them to look for alternative sources of water for fear of their health.

Ms Molly Akumu, a resident of Pece Vanguard in Pece Division told Acholi Times in an Interview  this week that since she fetched tap water on Thursday last week, she has not gone back for more because of the  stench in the water.

“I failed to use the water I fetched for cooking, washing my clothes and even bathing. It smells so strange. I will still continue fetching borehole water until this smell is not there,’’ Akumu said.

Mr Paul Rackara, NWSC Gulu Branch Manager however said that the water being supplied is not harmful and  refutes claims that the smell could be as a result of the dead fish that decomposed in the dam.

At least 2 million fish were estimated to have died from Oyitino dam following the prolonged dry spell. By last week, piles of decomposing fish were visible on the banks of the dam. UPDF soldiers from the 4^th division helped remove the decomposing fish.

“What people are experiencing currently is the smell of the residual chlorine we use for treating water. We have put excess chlorine in the water more than the quantity we used before because we want the pipes and tanks that have been dry for nearly a week to be disinfected and also the water we are supplying,” Mr Rackara said.

According to Rackara, the water they are supplying underwent safety tests by their chemists adding that as NSWC they can never let anything out of its reservoirs to locals if they know it has adverse effects on them.

Mr Rackara also added that following their struggles to connect the Oyitino stream to Oyitino dam through digging a two kilometer trench, the dam is slowly filling up to capacity saying water has now surpassed the foot valve in the dam by nearly two feet.

“We are now supplying 2 million cubic litters of water ever since the dam run dry. We believe we shall hit the normal supply after we have sunk boreholes in selected areas where we are negotiating with the land owners.”

At least 139,000 people within Gulu Municipality have been affected by the current water shortage that hit the Municipality.