Company fined after ink spill taints bird park water

A company based at Southgate Business Park was fined by eThekwini Municipality last week for unintentionally polluting the waterways of Amanzimtoti Bird Sanctuary.

According to Euro Corrugated general manager, Calvin Chetty a drum containing dried non-toxic water-based ink at the bottom, was standing in the company’s yard waiting to be collected.

“Due to heavy rain, the drum filled with water and the ink liquefied,” said Chetty.

“On Friday afternoon, 26 August an employee accidentally dropped the drum while trying to dispose of it. In an effort to clean up, he washed the ink off the yard surface and it entered the stormwater drain, flowed into the stream and turned the water green.”

Southgate Business Park manager, Frans van der Merwe said he noticed the green tint and reported it to the municipality. “The guards and I check regularly as the Owners Association directed we try and keep the ‘footprint’ of the business park as small as possible,” he said. “Metro took samples but could not find the cause, so I enlisted the help of Keith Walters of E-Scape and we started lifting drain covers.”

Their investigation led to a building on the corner of Beechgate Crescent and Palmgate Crescent where they found traces of green in the stormwater.

“The property has two factories on it and neither were aware of what had happened but were willing to assist in our enquiry.”

The company accepts responsibility for the incident and apologises to all stakeholders,” said Chetty. “This was an isolated and unfortunate incident and we have made contingency plans to ensure such incidents will not occur again

After being made aware of the pollution, the company reacted swiftly. Plumbers and consultants were called out over the weekend to investigate and rectify the situation. A sludge removal truck pumped 50,000 litres of water to clean the stormwater drains.

“The company accepts responsibility for the incident and apologises to all stakeholders,” said Chetty. “This was an isolated and unfortunate incident and we have made contingency plans to ensure such incidents will not occur again. The company always performs as a responsible corporate citizen and faithfully follows all of its guidelines to protect the environment. We have already met with eThekwini Municipality’s natural resource department and Toti Conservancy. As part of our beliefs, we always leave the environment in a better condition than we found it. We will embark on a security upgrade to the bird park as gesture of goodwill,” said Chetty.

“We have been struggling with pollutants in the stormwater now for about three years, now and again from one of our tenants, but mostly from five inlets from outside the business park,” said Van Der Merwe. “Sewage from blockages, broken pipes and pumpstation malfunctions also contribute to what ends up in the bird park. We work closely with local conservancy members, residents and Metro officials to stop the pollution and most our tenants are responsible and against polluting. If Metro cannot find polluters, it is up to us to find them.

Thanks to our security at Southgate who keep checking the water and Keith who helped us find where it was coming from.”

By Tuesday morning, 30 August, the water was clearing and only the residue needed to dissipate.

“The Catchment Management Forum (CMF) continues to strive to get the relevant departments engaged with our specific issues and to address pollution in our area,” said Toti Conservancy member, Rev Andrew Manning, who chairs the CMF meetings.

Although frustrated with a lack of solutions to the bird park saga, we are encouraged that we are being heard and authorities know that we will persist in fighting for our natural resources

“Although frustrated with a lack of solutions to the bird park saga, we are encouraged that we are being heard and authorities know that we will persist in fighting for our natural resources. There are many people actively involved in raising awareness of the plight of the bird park and we encourage them not to tire of doing good, and to continue to report, photograph and contact the media regarding pollution, and never give up the struggle.

Without this, the CMF will not have the required information to adequately participate in the work of managing our water resources. We encourage people who live in close proximity to any of the pollution sources in and around Toti to regularly submit information on spills and incidents. All this helps build our case.

The CMF aims to collaborative with all relevant departments to ensure that an integrated water and waste education programme is rolled out and optimised throughout the catchment. Public input into that process is also welcomed. All the roleplayers who contribute to the work of the CMF are thanked for their input.”

Toti Conservancy welcomed the outcome of the recent pollution spill.

“Currently the Winklespruit lagoon smells of sewerage, the Little Amanzimtoti River is polluted with sewerage from a pipe leak above the waste water treatment works caused by July’s floods, the new river mouth is signposted with a pollution warning, the Amanzimtoti River tributary is highly polluted around the bird park and the Umbogintwini River mouth is piled high with plastic,” said chairman of Toti Conservancy, Angus Pyke.

There are many people actively involved in raising awareness of the plight of the bird park and we encourage them not to tire of doing good, and to continue to report, photograph and contact the media regarding pollution, and never give up the struggle

“We acknowledge that some of this is a direct result of the flooding but appeal to the authorities to remedy the situation.

The swift action taken by the municipality at the Umdoni Road sewage pumpstation during the flood averted a serious pollution incident and they need to be complimented. An enormous effort has gone into upgrading the pumps, switch gear and alarm signalling of all our local sewage pumpstations and the equipment is in excellent condition. However, a total of 40% of the pumpstations have been vandalised and this problem is continuing.

The main cause of sewage spills is the blockage of pipes and pumps with foreign matter flushed down the system. It is hoped an education programme will bring an improvement.”

 
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