SABIE – The continued efforts of the the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) and the Inkomathi Catcment Management Agency (ICMA) is paying dividends. Lowvelder recently reported on the repair of a year long sewage spill in Hazyview by Mbombela Local Municipality after a directive in terms of the National Water Act was issued to the council by DWAF.
The Thaba Chweu Municipality (TCM) has also been the receiving end of DWAF and its monitoring agency ICMA’s enforcement arm when a notice to issue a directive was given to TCM on July 26. The notice followed months of continued sewage spillage into the Sabie River by three blocked manholes in and around town. Another blocked manhole in the suburb of Mount Anderson had been contaminating the surrounding wetland.
According to Mr Marcus Selepe of ICMA, TCM had responded to the notice in writing by July 30, indicating that repairs to five blocked manholes were underway. During an inspection by ICMA officials on August 13, it was found that blockages at the Maritz and Living Waters manholes were removed, and reconstruction at two others (at the Caravan Park and Old Bridge) were in progress. No work had been done at a fifth problem spot, TTC, where a manhole was still found to be overflowing. TCM was instructed to address this as a matter of urgency.
Lowvelder will continue to report on the progress of repairs.
Water tests results taken at severel points on the Sabie River in May 2013 show extreme volumes of E.Coli specifically at the Sabie Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) discharge point (6 000 000 per 100ml), upstream of the WWTW (29 000/100ml), and at the Sabie Falls (87 000/100ml).
The maximum acceptable levels of E. coli in natural water sources, such as rivers, have been stipulated in the SABS Guidelines (1984) and DWAF (1996a) as > 2 000 micro-organisms/100 ml and > 130 micro-organisms/100 ml, respectively as counts above these levels may lead to waterborne infections. According to DWAF, where river water is used for recreational purposes, the counts should not exceed 2 000 micro-organisms/100 ml while an E. coli count of > 130 micro-organisms/100 ml, could lead to serious disease infections.
