Jukskei River ‘contaminated by sewage’
MIDRAND - The councillor for Ward 93 is concerned for the safety of homeless people who may be drinking contaminated water from the Jukskei River.
Councillor Annette Deppe contacted the City of Johannesburg’s environmental department to report the state of the Jukskei River. “There has been white foam floating on the water for over a month now. I am concerned for the homeless people who use the river water to bathe and drink. It is not safe for any of that,” she said.
City of Johannesburg spokesperson, Nkosinathi Nkabinde said that the Jukskei River originates in the Inner City, flows through Bruma, Alexander, Buccleuch and other surburbs. “The frothy foam in the river water was a result of a thunderstorm that made sewer manholes situated within the Jukskei River catchment temporarily overflow,” he said.
Nkabinde explained that sewage water carries remnants of detergents from bathwater and washing powder, but the main components that cause the froth are the sulfates and nitrates. When there is a storm or other interference, these components froth and cause the foam.
“The foam is not toxic but large quantities may be harmful to the water ecosystem,” he added.
Nkabinde said that unscrupulous landowners and developers illegally divert storm water into sewer systems which, during flash storms, overload them. This results in manholes overflowing and allowing sewage to enter the storm system flowing into the Jukskei River.
He added, “Environmental Health will advise Joburg Water and the Planning Development department to appoint gully inspectors to inspect high density developments within the catchment. This will ensure that storm water from premises are correctly diverted to storm drains and not sewer systems.”
Similar incidents can be reported to the Environmental Health Region A for investigations on: 011 025 8020.
