According to the Municipal Water Department, the discolouration of the water is caused by mud and remains of burnt vegetation.

“Our water department is currently conducting two tests; one, to ascertain the amount of iron in the water and one to detect bacteria; the results will be available tomorrow,” the Executive Mayor announced this morning.

“Although the Municipal Water Department does not have any reason to believe that the water is unsafe for human consumption, we encourage consumers to boil the water before using it, pending the outcome of the tests.

“We are aware of the messages that were going around on social media platforms claiming that there are people that have been admitted to hospital, allegedly due to the water. We can however confirm that both the Oudtshoorn Provincial Hospital and the Klein Karoo Medi-Clinic have not yet received any incidents relating to the claims of these social media messages.”