In her ice white lab coat, Cebile Myeni, a Laboratory Analyst at Joburg Water, says the process of ensuring residents have access to safe drinking water is based on rigorous daily tests. Myeni graduated from the University of Zululand with a BSc in Biochemistry and Microbiology. She also holds a BSc Honours degree in Microbiology from the same university.
She started as an analyst intern for Joburg Water in 2014 and became a permanent Lab Analyst in September 2016.
She says being an analyst can be stressful because the City relies heavily on them to test the quality of drinking water. However, Myeni sees it as a privilege to be part of such an important process because, without quality drinking and usable water, there would be utter chaos.
As the City’s primary water and sanitation provider, Johannesburg Water has stringent processes in place to deliver high-quality, accessible, dependable, and efficient water and sanitation services in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner.
“Delivering water and sanitation services of excellent quality is strategic goal number two for Joburg Water. To accomplish this, we need to continue delivering a professional, sustainable, affordable, and cost-effective service to the people by being a utility that works.”
Myeni says every day, some but not all of the microbiologists’ duties include analysing drinking water, as well as sampling water from dams and springs.
“When we start our day and run these tests, we are evaluating for total coliforms and e-coli within the water samples, as well as assessing the water of our plants for compliance of the effluents.”
In water, coliform bacteria has no taste, smell, or colour and can only be detected through tests done by analysts. E. coli indicates that water has been contaminated with faecal material that may cause gastrointestinal illness. Symptoms of consuming contaminated water may include stomach cramps and vomiting, among others.
Water contamination may occur through systems that are not working properly, polluted storm water runoff as well as faulty sewerage systems.
To eliminate such instances, Myeni says assessing water quality includes wastewater purification in the Johannesburg Water plant and the final effluents are then discharged. Water purification is performed by Rand Water, the water utility that supplies potable water to the Gauteng province and other areas of the country.
Once this process is completed by Rand Water, Joburg Water commences with sampling. Myeni says conducting successful sampling occurs if the technology or apparatus is of top quality.
“The technology we currently use in the lab is the Colilert. It uses the patented Defined Substrate Technology (DST), to detect the total amount of coliforms and E. coli concurrently.”
Myeni says the DST allows analysts to determine the most probable numbers when mixing the samples, and it incorporates the medium, which has enzymes that react after incubation has taken place.
“One major benefit of using such superior quality technology is that if customers complain about water in their areas, we can head out to get samples and bring them back to the lab and have results within 18 to 22 hours,” she notes.
Myeni absolutely loves cooking and her favourite dish is chicken lasagne. She says it’s full of flavour and a winner for Sunday lunches. She is also partial to a flavourful classic beef stew. When she’s not in the lab or kitchen, Myeni is a devoted believer.
Written by Sascha-Lee Joseph
19/08/2022