Sewage pollutes Gilloolly’s Dam

Edenvale resident and environmental specialist Dr Irwin Juckes believes he may have found the reason behind the death of fish at Gillooly’s Dam.

In February the NEWS reported that contradicting statements had been issued concerning the death of the fish.

At the time, an environmental health practitioner within Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality’s (EMM) Department of Health and Social Development said the cause of the fish dying in the dam is twofold.

One is a natural phenomenon that occurs whenever there is heavy rainfall. This causes a sudden influx of a strong stream of water flowing into the dam which stirs up the sediment at the bottom. When there is a sudden influx of water into the dam after heavy rains, the strong flow of water causes turbidity, picking up the sediment on the bottom, and drives out some of the free oxygen. This then disturbs the balance and there is not enough oxygen for the number of fish, causing some of them to die off.

He said there was no evidence of any chemical pollution contributing to the dying of the fish life.

Spokesperson for EMM, Mr Themba Gadebe said the fish died due to a sewer spillage.

Asked what measures would be taken to address the problem, he said, “The Metro is investigating the possibility of moving the pipes away from the stream.”

Dr Juckes said although authorities usually deal promptly with problems reported to them, they often walk away without having resolved the problem when it is not straightforward or difficult to get access to and can take a long time.

He said the Oriel stream is the main feed to the dam.

“There is raw sewage getting into the stream just before it goes under the Gillooly’s Interchange. This is how we need people to report the incidents as they see them to the officials. When I look at the source, it does seem to me that it has been pouring out for at least two months for it to have built up like that,” he said.

He said even after the sewage would have been stopped from spilling, it would take a long time before both the stream and dam could rid themselves of the dirt.

Residents remain concerned about the state of the dam.

“Sewage is still pouring into the dam at Gillooly’s, making the park smelly for people walking their dogs and those going to the park for some time out. It is unfair on residents and should be addressed,” said one resident.