Many rivers in the Western Cape are teeming with dangerous faecal bacteria as they are used as toilets in areas with insufficient sanitation systems. Drinking this water could make you seriously ill, experts say.
A dedicated scientist from the University of Stellenbosch’s Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr Jo Barnes, recently took the responsibility of evaluating the pollution levels in the Cape’s fresh water sources.
By law, South Africa has one of the most progressive water legislation in the world, according to Barnes. However, she says these laws have been difficult to implement, because of lack of funding. The dangers that lurk in the Boland region’s water sources have affected the health of the surrounding population, including animals, and also the quality of export fruit crops.
Barnes’ research came about when she discovered intestinal parasites in various water sources running through the Kayamandi township in Stellenbosch. Due to inefficient municipal services, hygiene levels in the river were appalling. After tracing the sources of pollution flowing into various water sources, she discovered how the area has become a breeding ground for various bacteria and other intestinal parasites.
A research project begins
These discoveries marked the beginning of a major long-term study, which began in 1998, and was concluded in 2002. Barnes visited the Plankenbrug River every six weeks and found many specimens of E. coli, which indicated that the river was heavily contaminated by faecal matter.
Barnes refers to the township of Kayamandi as a typical example of an area where these water laws are not implemented by the municipality. She states that the pollution was the result of the river being used as a toilet, and a rubbish dump.
A mass of danger
Barnes discovered E. coli, Staphylococcus, and many other organisms in the water. These viruses are responsible for causing serious infection in humans, some even deadly. Such conditions include those related to respiratory and heart disease, gastroenteritis, hepatitis, urinary infections, skin disease, and eye complications. These conditions can be very taxing to the immune system, even more so with those suffering from tuberculosis and HIV.
Some disturbing information supplied by Professor Maureen Taylor from the University of Pretoria, stated that the organisms in the river had already built up a resistance against certain chlorines which are used to clean polluted waters, as well as against certain antibiotics.
A negative impact on streams
Informal settlements are usually situated close to water streams and up until now, their effects on the environment have been seriously underestimated by the relevant authorities. With the awaited drought expected to hit the Boland area within the next decade, it has now become a priority to protect all water sources in the area.
For a long time, the municipality had locked public toilets overnight, apparently to prevent crime. There are an estimated 60 people per toilet in the township of Kayamandi. This forced residents in the area to use buckets to relieve themselves. During the mornings, they would discard all excrement into the river and storm water drains.
Regular dumping of rubbish into the river is also a major concern and the problem is only getting worse. Since her studies began, Barnes often confronted the authorities, handing them her findings, without any success.
She believes that taxpayers’ money needs to be spent on improving sanitation and municipal services to poorer areas of the Cape, and feels that problems within the department need to be resolved, as it is now the time to take action.
Community involvement helps
On a lighter note, a new project funded by a Danish corporation, and supported by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, has involved residents of Kayamandi, educating them on how to bring pollution levels under control.
A clean-up operation was arranged. Plumbers and carpenters restored the existing toilets and built an additional block to serve the area. Campaigns, developed by Barnes, educated the community about personal hygiene and other issues related to water pollution.
Since the campaign, pollution levels in the area have decreased. Initially, where levels of E. coli were 34 million per 100ml of water, during the operations these were reduced to 9 000 per 100ml. However, in February 2004, levels of E. coli rapidly increased to an alarming 560 million per 100ml.
Other areas also affected
In between her research at Kayamandi, Barnes also visited other rivers in the Boland region and found high levels of pollution in the Eerste River and Berg River. Apparently, the situation in the Berg River shows tangible evidence of large-scale sewerage contamination.
In February 2004, the Berg River had 11 700 E. coli per 100ml of water. The storm water drains in the residential areas of Paarl, namely Mbekweni, had 2 440 million E. coli per 100ml. Closer to winter, when temperatures began to drop, E. coli levels decreased to only 17 million.
Ageing technology
According to Barnes, the Western Cape is battling to keep sewerage out of rivers, because of two main reasons: outdated sewerage systems, which are not maintained efficiently, and inefficient garbage removal systems, due to a lack of infrastructure. All of this is the result of funding shortages.
Barnes says informal housing and lack of sanitation alongside riverbeds are the biggest sources of contamination, but sewerage works, leaking pipes and chlorinators that are out of order, have added to the problem. These obstacles, in general, pose high health risks to the Western Cape’s rivers and ecosystems.
Other lives also affected
Barnes says farm animals and plantations are also greatly affected. This has caused great concern for farmers in the Boland region who export fruit for the international market. Should the European Union decide that the quality of river water is not up to standard, it could happen that farmers might be unable to export crops, with catastrophic financial results.
Meanwhile, it is the poverty-stricken population that is suffering the brunt of water pollution. According to research, 78 out of 4 000 children who visited the Kayamandi Clinic over a period of four months in 2004, had gastroenteritis, due to water pollution in the area.
Water and living
The consequences of polluted water are daunting, due to faecal and oral diseases this water can cause. Water supplies need to be installed as close as possible to houses, to promote hygiene.
Many local authorities have been apathetic towards these issues. Barnes feels that simple intervention such as maintenance and education can make a huge difference, but only with full co-operation by the authorities.
The World Health Organization has stipulated access to clean water and sanitation as a basic human right. E. coli should be absent in all drinking water, and irrigation systems should have no more than 2 000 organisms per 100ml.
That such a huge percentage of people in South Africa still do not have the advantages of this, is not only an indictment against the country’s struggling local authorities, but a health risk in its own right that should never be underestimated.
(Based on an article published in Tygerland Magazine, October 2005) - Health24
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