Sewage streaming into Blesbokspruit
Where does the water end up that flows into our fresh water streams?
BETHAL – Everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being and to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation.
A big problem arose recently when sewage was overflowing into Blesbok Spruit.
Tunnels were dug so that the sewage could flow into the stream of fresh water.
Govan Mbeki Municipality claimed the problem was resolved.
The spokesman, Mr Bheki Kubheka, replied as follows on two different occasions: “Please be informed that our pump stations (Cow Village and Millan Park) in Bethal had a pump breakdown and all [the] two pumps in each pump station was [were] taken for repairs by our contracted service provider.
“However, the service provider committed to bring back the pumps on Tuesday the 24 May. We are preventing sewer overflow by sucking the incoming flow with a septic truck. Please be informed that the pumps at Millan Park pump station were returned today and the pump station is operational.”
Human sewage and/or cattle excrement that is untreated also causes water pollution in the same way as fertilisers do.
Human sewage contains germs that cause diseases such as hepatitis and cholera.
Soap and washing detergents contain both natural and man made (artificial) chemicals.
The natural chemicals can cause a pollution problem similar to that caused by fertilisers.
Poor operation and maintenance of wastewater and sewage treatment infrastructure is a cause for concern in South Africa.
Many water quality studies conducted in South Africa revealed that this problem contributes to the pollution of water resources upon which most rural communities depend for all their domestic and other purposes.
Pollution as a result of poor wastewater and sewage treatment infrastructure has a direct impact on human health and the environment.
The study aimed at identifying the root causes of the problems found in a number of case studies conducted by other investigators.
Analysis of the selected studies showed that the problem of poor operation and maintenance has its underlying causes that can be addressed at various government levels.
Certain problems experienced in municipalities are specific to each municipality while others are a general concern across all the municipalities.
This study generated some essential baseline information of the underlying causes to the problem of poor operation and maintenance of wastewater and sewage treatment plants in South Africa.
Municipal raw water or treated effluent is discharged from specific point-sources and chanelled into the receiving water such as streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ground water.
Point-source pollution problems not only increase treatment costs considerably, but also introduce a wide range of potentially infectious agents to water that may be supplied to many rural communities, thus resulting in incidences of waterborne diseases with far reaching socio-economic implications.
Water is essential for human health and the environment, and measures must be taken to ensure that it is not polluted to an unacceptable level.
A vidoe of sewage flowing into Blesbok Spruit can be viewed on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5ONUqzo_9Y&feature=youtu.be.
