Kiwasco advises customers not to chlorinate tap water

Kendu Bay residents have to go deeper into Lake Victoria to get cleaner water because of the hyacinth weed on the shoreline. [Denish Ochieng’, Standard]

Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company (Kiwasco) has advised its clients against treating tap water with chlorine to avoid consuming too much of the chemical.

Kiwasco, in a message to more than 200,000 clients, said it had taken sufficient measures to treat the water abstracted from Lake Victoria, which is reeling from pollution due to rotting water hyacinth.

Years of infestation of the weed in the Winam Gulf, from where Kiwasco extracts water at Dunga Beach, has led to a rise in iron levels in the water.

Kiwasco said it had increased its treatment regimen of the heavily contaminated water and warned that further treatment at home could turn the water brown and expose users to ill health.

“The occurrence of iron may affect our customers who post-disinfect the piped water using chlorinated home treatment products such as Water Guard and other forms of water treatment that have chlorinated compounds.

“We therefore advise customers not to post-chlorinate Kiwasco water, as this will lead to coloration of the water. We take this opportunity to assure customers that despite this, the water has no pathogens that could cause any water-borne disease such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea,” the firm said.

Growing concern

Although the firm explained that the iron in the water pumped into homes was within accepted levels, concern grew over the accuracy of the claims.

One reader responding to the message that Kiwasco posted on its Facebook page sought to know why the water would turn brown since “water only turns brown on chlorination if it has high concentrations of iron”.

Iron overload in the body can lead to liver, heart and pancreatic damage, as well as diabetes. Early symptoms include fatigue, weight loss, and joint pain. Excessive iron is never recommended for digestion; it can lead to stomach problems, nausea, vomiting and other issues, reads an article by the World Health Organisation.

Kiwasco MD Thomas Odongo said they were spending 30 per cent over their regular budget to treat water from Lake Victoria due to the effects of the hyacinth.

Mr Odongo said rotting hyacinth used up oxygen on the water and released toxic metals such as iron, adding that aeration and removal of the metal was proving costly.

The firm is among beneficiaries of fresh efforts by the national government and line agencies to dredge the lake.