It may be only a matter of time before sewage pouring into Belmont Valley from Grahamstown spells disaster for sport, tourism and subsistence fishing in Port Alfred.
It may be only a matter of time before sewage pouring into Belmont Valley from Grahamstown spells disaster for sport, tourism and subsistence fishing in Port Alfred.
Experts have warned that E. coli levels in treated water being discharged from the Belmont Valley Waste Water Treatment Plant into the Bloukrans River, which runs through farms east of Grahamstown, make it unsafe for human contact.
The sample for the E. coli count, taken on 22 March, refers to the point of discharge from the sewage treatment works, but there are fears that a second source of faecal contamination of the Bloukrans River could be creating a toxic time bomb for communities downstream, including Port Alfred.
Testing by a university-based environmental health group is currently being undertaken on the section of the river near Fort England Hospital, where residents have been complaining for weeks about the unbearable stench as raw sewage flows past their homes. Two leaks in the main sewer as it passes De Villiers Close have been identified as the source.
Together with E. Coli levels in the water being discharged from the treatment works, already described by experts as "way above the legal limit", there are fears that this additional untreated sewage could make swimming, fishing or rowing downstream unsafe. residents have been complaining of the leak for the past two months.
The Bloukrans River feed into the Kowie River, the main waterfront for restaurants, luxury marina homes and businesses in Port Alfred. It is also used for subsistence and recreational fishing, as well as for sports including rowing and water-skiing. The holiday town hosted the first Kowie River Mile earlier this year – a swimming event local tourism organisers hope will grow.
The results of the tests were tabled at a monthly meeting of the municipality's Infrastructural Development portfolio committee. The tests, conducted by Amatola Water Amanzi, indicated that E. coli levels were at 2 420 cells per 100mI. Commenting on this result Dr Roman Tandlich, of the Environmental Health and Biotechnology Research Group in the Rhodes Pharmacy Department, told Grocott's Mail it indicated that "humans should not come into any sort of contact with the water sampled".
Tandlich said he was currently analysing samples from the stream near De Villiers Close, into which the raw sewage is leaking.
Environmental Activist and head of the Kowie Catchment Campaign Nikki Kohly echoed Tandlich's fears.
"E coli levels over 2 420… not good, way over the legal limit," she wrote in an emailed response.
Kohly conceded that the river ecosystem would be able to process a certain amount of pollution and maintain the health of the river.
But she warned, "If there is too much [effluent], for too long, then it is quite possible that some of the hazards associated with raw sewage could reach Ndlambe Municipality’s water supply. If this were the case, then swimming or fishing or rowing etc in the water would not be a good idea."
Makana Municipality have assured Grocott's Mail they are doing everything they can to sort out the sewage problems.
Technical and Infrastructure Services director Thembinkosi Myalato said, "One of the challenges is that Makana is situated upstream of the river. Another is that we have unlined sewer systems, such as VIP toilets and bucket toilets."
He said adding to this problem was that the Belmont Valley sewerage system was already overloaded.
"Makana municipality is working tirelessly to remove/eradicate the informal sanitation system and also we are trying to get funding for the upgrade of the current Waste Water Treatment Plant," he said.
He said Grahamstown's population was far above what the Belmont Valley waste water treatment plant could currently support.
Asked about the possibility of contaminating Ndlambe Municipality's water, he said, "We are concerned about contamination of water. That is why we are making sure that the problem is attended to as soon as possible.
"For now, pumps have been rectified and we are continuing with the bucket eradication plan."
Last month Myalato had explained to the Infrastructural Development committee that one of the sewerage ponds near De Villiers Close had been damaged during the floods last October last year.
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