WATCH: SAHRC greeted to black filth at Wemmer Pan lake during inspection

Black water resembling oil, the overpowering smell of hydrogen sulphide and rubbish floating on the water greeted the team from the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) at Wemmer Pan in Johannesburg during a site inspection.

The site inspection yesterday followed allegations of environmental pollution and raw sewage pouring into the lake.

SAHRC Gauteng provincial head Buang Jones said samples will be taken to determine the source of the contamination with the view of finding lasting solutions.

Jones said the commission was concerned with the state of the lake.

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Ina Cilliers, Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng spokesperson for economic development and agriculture and rural development, said the allegations were concerning as they affected residents directly.

“Environmental legislation is complex and involves different stakeholders. We will follow the investigation carefully and facilitate intergovernmental cooperation so that a solution may be found and implemented,” she said.

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Chair of Wemmer Pan Aquatic Clubs Rod MacKinnon said they have suspended training and cancelled two events.

“We have terminated our training programmes for the junior canoeing and put rowing on hold. You can’t have kids fall into that water. The adult programme also comes to a halt,” he said.

MacKinnon said some of their canoeing colleagues have moved to Victoria Lake in Germiston for training.

“It is really not a nice place to be. You can’t see a centimetre under the water; it’s black,” he said.

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South African Business Water Chamber chief executive officer Benoit le Roy said the rule of the law was not being applied.

Le Roy said years ago he worked with the municipality pollution control offices to enforce the bylaws at factories which didn’t have adequate treatment plants or didn’t comply with bylaws.

“The bylaws were enforced by the pollution control officers who would inspect all the factories who had effluent and complied to the bylaws,” he said.

Le Roy said those who didn’t comply got a warning letter and were given an amount of time to comply.

“They were charged according to a discharge formula, the higher the pollution load the higher you would pay,” he explained.

Le Roy said if factories went over a certain limit of the discharge formula, the officers would switch off their water and electricity for non-compliance.

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Specialist consultant at Waterlab Dr Gina Pocock said the high counts of E. coli reported in Wemmer Pan water indicated that there was a spill of untreated sewage into the dam.

“While the presence of E. coli bacteria indicates sewage pollution in the dam, of greater concern is the likely presence of other more pathogenic bacteria and viruses which pose a severe health risk to those exposed, as well as a high organic and nutrient load that accompany raw sewage spills into the natural environment,” she said.

Pocock said the natural breakdown of the organic material in the sewage caused a drop in oxygen levels in the water, leading to fish kills and the development of anaerobic conditions in the dam.

“Water impacted by gold mining activity is typically of low pH, with high concentrations of sulphates and metals in solution.”

She said of equal concern is the buildup of metals in the water and sediment.

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