THE Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) has released a statement in response to the death of over 100 fish at Jackson Dam. This statement comes more than two weeks after the tragedy was discovered.
“According to the water quality officer, there was no visible sewer pollution but the level of the dam was higher than normal. Samples at the in- and outlet of the dam were taken and sent to the lab for analysis,” stated EMM spokesperson, Themba Gadebe.
The results were purportedly compliant with the in-stream water quality guidelines and thus confirmed that the water was not polluted by sewage.
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Gadebe explained that on the day of the investigation, a chlorine test was conducted on-site which found that the chlorine level in the water was high enough to suspect that chlorine could have been a factor that led to the death of the fish. “It is known that chlorine, even in the amount found in tap water, is toxic to fish.”
Rand Water released a statement, on July 9, indicating that they believe a drop in temperature might be responsible for the fish’s death.
EMM will continue to monitor the dam and its chlorine levels. EMM will also investigate any non-compliant or abnormalities observed at the dam.
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According to EMM, the senior environmental officer from the Environmental Resources Management division met with the Fisheries department on Monday, July 13, to discuss the possibilities of re-mediating the water and possibly relocating the fish.
The water quality section will be meeting with Rand Water to establish the source of the dam’s pollution, determine how the pollution will be re-mediated and if the polluter pays principle will be valid for this case.
