GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Graaff-Reinet and its surrounding areas are often faced with water woes, which include little running water due to a lack of pressure, or no water at all because of emergency municipal servicing.

When residents do have running water, they are also likely to be met with an unpleasant smell.

This, says Municipal Spokesperson Wilca Smith, is due to the high amount of sulphur in the borehole water supplied to homes.

Levels of hydrogen sulphide gasses or sulphur bacteria are usually found in open water supplies, which would explain the rotten egg smell that water consumers have described in the area.

"[Locals] must keep in mind that we are only relying on borehole water to supply all towns in the Dr Beyers Naudé municipal area," Smith told the Advertiser.

"The smell could be removed by using reverse osmosis, but this is an extremely costly system to install and even more expensive to operate," Smith added.

Smith advised that residents boil municipal water before consumption.

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