Margate water passes quality test

MARGATE’S drinking water supply has received a clean bill of health from AfriForum, following the release of the report on its Blue and Green Drop drinking and sewage waste water quality campaign.

It was one of 132 towns whose drinking water quality was tested by the civil rights organisation in March this year, as part of its annual campaign. The other KwaZulu-Natal towns whose water was tested were Newcastle, Paulpietersburg, Pongola, Scottburgh, Utrecht and Vryheid.

Only Vryheid did not comply with the quality standards for drinking water.

According to AfriForum’s head of environmental affairs, Julius Kleynhans, his organisation was positive about developments with respect to water-quality management in areas throughout South Africa where his organisation’s branches were situated. Only five of the 132 water samples tested were not up to standard. Last year 11 of the 107 drinking systems tested had not passed the quality test, he added.

“It is incredible to see organised communities taking responsibility and standing up for their rights and monitoring the quality of the water provided by their municipalities. Those towns that did not previously comply with regulations were taken to task by AfriForum and we have seen a significant improvement in general,” he said.

Stella, in the Naledi Local Municipality in Mpumalanga, was one of the non-compliant towns. A sample registered 50 mg of nitrates per 100 ml of water. This chemical could cause a condition known as methaemoglobinaemia in infants, according to the South African Water Quality Guidelines.

Molteno in the Inkwanca Municipality and Tarkastad in Tsolwana Municipality were two Eastern Cape towns that did not comply with quality standards. Both contained E coli bacteria. According to national standards there should be no E coli in drinking water. Coligny in the Ditsobotla Municipality in North West Province contained E coli in the sample for the second year in a row. The sample from Vryheid, which falls within the Abaqulusi Municipality, also registered E coli.

The communities whose water supplies were contaminated were informed by AfriForum and advised not to drink the water and AfriForum consulted with the municipalities. The good news is that follow-up samples indicated the water was clean. AfriForum also tested the quality of water from 58 sewage water systems. Of these, 26 did not comply with quality standards.

“Various municipalities shut their doors to us, denying AfriForum access to sample their waste water quality this year. This is understandable considering the dreadful state of waste water management in general in the country. However, we have seen significant improvement in access control to these sites and 15 sewerage systems have improved dramatically, complying with quality standards on the dates tested,” said Mr Kleynhans.

He pointed out that the 26 waste water treatment works that did not comply posed a threat to human health, food security and the environment. South Africa’s national water quality standards make allowance for 1 000 units of E coli per 100 ml of water in treated sewage. A sample from Newcastle registered an unacceptable E coli count of 10 000 units per 100ml. The only other KwaZulu-Natal site tested was in Vryheid, which was compliant with quality standards.

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