4 billion litres of sewage spews into water system daily
JOBURG - South Africa’s water shortage is not simply the result of the current drought, said water expert, Doctor Anthony Turton from the University of the Free State's Centre for Environmental Management. He said it also stemmed from the loss of skills to transformation.
In his analysis published in @Liberty, the policy bulletin of the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) Turton said, “The water shortage is also an induced one… It stems from a lack of strategic planning, a loss of skills to transformation, and the fact that poorly functioning waste water treatment plants are spewing close on 4 billion litres of untreated or partially treated sewage into the country’s dams and rivers every day.”
He said Rand Water, which supplies metros such as Johannesburg and is also the largest bulk water provider in the southern hemisphere predating democracy in South Africa, no longer has any qualified engineers at board level.
Turton said Rand Water uses comes from the Vaal Dam system. He stated that this in turn is supplied from three bulk sources namely Lesotho Highlands, Thukela Vaal Pumped Storage Scheme and the Zuurbekom well fields near Carletonville.
The expert said Vaal Dam is also the receiving body for effluent from six sewage works.
“There is strategic planning in Rand Water, which remains one of the best performers. However, the technology used to treat water to potable standards is not designed to render sewage effluent safe. This is their challenge – adapting to changing conditions of their feedstock that is increasingly contaminated by effluent, including partially metabolised medication, viral and bacterial loads,” Turton said.
He also warned that microcystin levels found in a number of major dams – including Hartbeespoort, Hazelmere, Midmar and the Vaal Dam – are among the highest ever measured in the world. Microcystin is a potential carcinogen for animals and humans.
“Microcystin toxin levels become a concern in developed countries at far below the levels commonly found in South Africa. Moreover, nothing is being done here to remove the toxin. There are only two known technologies capable of neutralising microcystin, and neither is in mainstream use in any of the country’s bulk potable water treatment plants. Worse still, no one knows whether these technologies can, in fact, neutralise microcystin at the concentrations found in South Africa. In this regard, we are truly flying blind,” Turton said.
He added that instead of dealing with these difficult issues, the government is under-reporting the extent of eutrophication. Eutrophication is the enrichment of bodies of fresh water by inorganic plant nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate. It may occur naturally but is also the result of fertiliser runoff and sewage.
