Black sludge in canal near Hennops shocks
“The sludge is a combination of various pollutants and smells like a dirty drain.”
A black sludge of pollution is washing up on the banks of the Hennops River in Mooiplaas, affecting residents and farms in the area.
The sludge is the result of sediment, sewage and pollution building up in slow-flowing parts of the river, according to Fresh.NGO director Willem Snyman.
The canal is about two kilometres from Sunderland Ridge.
Snyman posted several pictures of the sludge on social media after locals attempted to remove it.
He speculated that most of the pollution causing the sludge was coming directly from upstream Sunderland Ridge.
“The sludge is a combination of various pollutants and smells like a dirty drain,” he said.
“This discharge is the result of pollutants reacting to one another in the water.”
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Pretorians outraged at condition of Hennops river
“These pollutants were supposed to have been removed by the various water treatment facilities along the Hennops River.”
Snyman said the foam, which his organisation has also noted on the river in increasing quantities, was a variant of the sludge.
“When the foam dissipates, one sees it turning into a brown sludge and once this combines with other pollutants in the water it forms the rotten black substance.”
He suggested instead the black sludge should be treated by waste treatment facilities and sold as fertiliser.
“Once the treatment facilities put it through a biofilter and it has been made safe to use, it can then be used as an effective fertiliser.”
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ALSO READ: Foam shock during Hennops river clean-up
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