Pretoria - The Sunnyside Campus of Unisa will reopen and resume face-to-face student support services following the positive outcome of the results of water tests conducted on campus.
The campus has been closed since June 7 because of dirty tap water in Tshwane. The university, at the time, said it decided to close the Sunnyside campus as a precautionary measure.
Two days before the closure, Unisa’s Department of Facilities Management received complaints of water being brownish in colour and suspected deterioration of the water quality at its Sunnyside and Muckleneuk campuses.
To ensure that the quality of drinking water complies with legislation and meets the minimum requirement of South African National Standards, the university conducted an urgent investigation to establish whether the water quality is compliant with statutory requirements as specified in law.
The quality of the water was assessed by three independent water quality laboratories.
The first service provider was the Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability that conducted independent tests complimented by a team of senior academics.
The second service provider, CSE consultants, was appointed to sample the quality of water against various parameters at various strategic points.
A third water test was conducted by the City of Tshwane’s Scientific Services, as the relevant authority that supplies water to Unisa.
The latter dispatched its team to perform quality water sampling and testing.
After receiving the water quality tests reports, a meeting was scheduled at the Sunnyside campus, whereby the independent experts communicated and presented the outcome of the results.
All three independent water quality test reports indicated that the quality of the water on all Pretoria campuses are safe for drinking and for any other usages.
Considering the positive outcome of the water quality results and the operational need for effective service delivery, the Unisa Sunnyside campus will open and resume its academic project, the university said.
Pretoria News