The aptly-named Black River in Cape Town is so polluted it could catch fire, an environmental organisation warned on Thursday.
"High levels of E.coli [bacterium] and phosphorus are turning the Black River into a methane-gas-producing swamp, which poses severe health risks to humans," the group What-On-Earth-Is-Happening (WOE-H) said in a statement.
Rivers in other parts of the world with such high levels of pollution had burst into flames, "and the Black River could do the same unless urgent action is taken", it said.
An example of this happening was the Cuyahoga River, which flowed through Cleveland in the United States. The river there caught fire in 1968.
"The blaze lasted just thirty minutes, but it did approximately $50,000 (about R350,000) damage [at the time], principally to bridges spanning the river," WOE-H said.
Methane gas is highly flammable at certain concentrations in air.
WOE-H has called for more funds to be made available to clean-up the Black River.
"There is little point in us signing international conventions and worrying about ice melting in the Antarctic, if we can't clean just one Cape Town river," it said.
WOE-H co-ordinator Leila Beltramo told Sapa the E.coli levels in the river were so high that drinking a cupful would cause severe diarrhoea.
The E.coli bacterium in the water is an indication of faecal contamination.
"You'd get terribly ill," Beltramo said.
A clean-up of the Black River, involving national and local politicians, is set for Saturday.
The river drains parts of the Cape Flats, and flows past Mowbray into Table Bay. - Sapa
"High levels of E.coli [bacterium] and phosphorus are turning the Black River into a methane-gas-producing swamp, which poses severe health risks to humans," the group What-On-Earth-Is-Happening (WOE-H) said in a statement.
Rivers in other parts of the world with such high levels of pollution had burst into flames, "and the Black River could do the same unless urgent action is taken", it said.
An example of this happening was the Cuyahoga River, which flowed through Cleveland in the United States. The river there caught fire in 1968.
| "There is little point in us... worrying about ice melting in the Antarctic" |
Methane gas is highly flammable at certain concentrations in air.
WOE-H has called for more funds to be made available to clean-up the Black River.
"There is little point in us signing international conventions and worrying about ice melting in the Antarctic, if we can't clean just one Cape Town river," it said.
WOE-H co-ordinator Leila Beltramo told Sapa the E.coli levels in the river were so high that drinking a cupful would cause severe diarrhoea.
| 'You'd get terribly ill' |
"You'd get terribly ill," Beltramo said.
A clean-up of the Black River, involving national and local politicians, is set for Saturday.
The river drains parts of the Cape Flats, and flows past Mowbray into Table Bay. - Sapa
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