Our rivers are choking from all sorts of rubbish and raw sewage

The decline in the quality of our drinking water, as indicated in the recently released Green Drop Certification Programme Report, is a cause for serious concern – and the worst part is that this is our own making.

The rate at which we pollute our critically scarce water resources, as well as the gross neglect of our wastewater treatment infrastructure, is alarming and could result in a health crisis of unimaginable proportions.

Our rivers are choking from all sorts of rubbish and flooded with raw sewage, with the Apies, Tolwane, Pienaar and Hennops rivers among those in the spotlight.

As much as the government is to blame, I believe we, the populace, are the biggest culprits in the destruction of our natural resources.

ALSO READ: NGO takes initiative to restore nature by cleaning rivers

For some inexplicable reason, people discard their waste – from baby diapers and carcases to bottles and plastic – in the rivers running through their settlements.

After these despicable acts, we would then turn around and bemoan how we are being given a raw deal by the government when we ourselves fail to admit to our part in this mess.

For years now, people living along the heavily polluted Tolwane river in Mabopane, north of Pretoria, have complained about dirty water and have endured the unbearable smell of raw sewage for years.

But one should see the rubbish they are unashamedly dumping into the same river, compounding the pollution crisis caused by raw sewage flowing into it.

It is akin to relieving yourself in the middle of a footpath and then complain about the smell and the unpleasant sight on your way back.

READ MORE: ‘South Africa has no water crisis, only capacity issues’ – Minister Mchunu

The Green Drop report published by the Department of Water and Sanitation last week show that a mere 23% of SA’s wastewater system scored a minimum of 90% when measured against the Green Drop standards and qualified for Green Drop certification of 60% in 2013.

Green Drop certification is awarded to wastewater works with a score of above 90% when tested against the criteria set for wastewater management and a system with less than 31% is regarded as a dysfunctional and requires appropriate interventions.

In 2013, 248, or 29%, of municipal wastewater works were found to be in a critical state.

The state of affairs has since worsened, with the report showing that the number has increased to 334, or 39%, in 2021 and this decline is at both the treatment and sewage collection levels.

With 78% of its systems in critical state, Limpopo is the worst hit, followed by Northern Cape with 76%, North West with 69%, Free State with 67%, Mpumalanga with 43%, Eastern Cape with 39%, Gauteng with 15%, KwaZulu-Natal with 14% and Western Cape with 11%.

ALSO READ: Billions spent on water projects, but Limpopo villages still dry

The results indicated most rural municipalities struggle to score more than 50%, with only 5% of systems in Free State and Limpopo reaching this threshold, compared to 75% in Gauteng.

According to the report, 41% of the entire team of supervisors and 40% of all process managers at treatment plants were unqualified, with a handful of technicians, engineers and scientists unable to produce proof qualifications.

It is also baffling that out water systems have gone to the dogs, despite paying hundreds of millions of rands to Cuban engineers supposedly here to rid us of our water problems.

We, the people, in cahoots with our authorities, are fast destroying natural water resources and water treatment systems –and there will be hell to pay.