WITS student gets to grips with spruit pollution
Her first testing was at the beginning of August.
When the first people roamed Melville Koppies thousands of years ago, the spruit that they relied on for their water would have been much cleaner than it is today.
Over the next year, WITS masters student Siphelele Mbangata is going to examine exactly how polluted the spruit is and what the pollutants are.
Mbangata will be testing it while runoff is low and comparing this to summer readings when all our litter flows into stormwater drains and into the river.
She will also be probing what species rely on the stream for survival and how our rubbish is affecting their lives.
Her first testing was at the beginning of August.
The pH test of 8 and the total dissolved solids test hovering around 148 were “acceptable” and wouldn’t cause harm to the living things relying on the river. But the other two measures probed were not.
Conductivity measurements were almost double the acceptable level for freshwater streams, often found “in areas with high mineral content or pollution”.
“And low oxidation reduction potential levels indicated low oxygen levels showing that the stream has “a lower ability to break down the contaminants”.
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Considering the source of the spruit is just 2km away in the quartzite ridge just up the hill near Brixton, the poor quality of the water is an indictment on humans’ ability to soil something so quickly.
Visit Melville Koppies on a Sunday mornings between 08:00 and 11.30 to see the damage being to our precious water.
If you’re interested in helping the ‘clean the spruit’ campaign, email wendavid@mweb.co.za or call 079 532 0083 or visit www.mk.org.za for more info.
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