Tests dating back to early June suggest Monufiya governorate officials knew local water supplies were unfit for drinking long before contaminated water sent thousands of Sansaft village residents to the hospital this week.
Residents are struggling to access enough clean drinking water after local supply stations were shut down. When a government-provided 4,000-liter container ran out, they built five underground water pumps. Some estimate that thousands of people have been effected by the contaminated water.
A copy of laboratory tests dated 4 June 2012, obtained by Al-Masry Al-Youm, prove the water unfit for human consumption due to the presence of bacteria, fungi and high levels of manganese and iron. The tests were conducted by the regional laboratory affiliated with Monufiya's health department.
Sansaft resident Adel Mohamed alleged the governorate’s local council declared drinking water in the village unfit for consumption in 2009, and since then the residents had largely been using bottled water, although his claims have not been independently verified.
Sources from the Drinking Water and Sanitation Facilities Ministry told Al-Masry Al-Youm that all of the country had clean drinking water until 2009, but due to the spread of informal settlements they estimated 98 percent of Egypt has access to potable water.
Presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali said the government is trying to identify a solution to the problem, adding that a similar case has occurred in another village, although he did not specify where. Such incidents, he said, show the need to reform infrastructure through a long-term plan.
Monufiya's deputy health minister, Ayman Abdel Moneim, said that the total number of patients who had been hospitalized with water-related illnesses was 4,000, while 105 patients are still hospitalized.
Prosecutors are investigating the incident and have summoned Abdallah al-Tahhan for questioning. Tahhan owns a charitable water station in the village that government reports claim was the source of the polluted water.
