South Africa’s rainfall statistics fluctuates from year to year, however, the annual average rainfall is 490mm which is half of the world average. The Aquastat database of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nation indicated that South Africa is ranked to be the 39th driest country in the world.
According to a study undertaken by the WWF, 2016, South Africa’s Renewable Water Resource falls on 843m³ per person per annum, compared to 8 other countries. South Africa has the least renewable water available per person per annum.
Numerous assumptions can be made from the graph above, regarding the reason for the low availability of renewable water resources left per person in South Africa, however, there are credible facts and studies supporting the accurate reasons for this.
All the studies and conclusions lead to South Africa running out of clean water by the year 2030. It is estimated that 98% of South Africa’s usable water (approximately 15 Billion mᵌ) supply has already been allocated to water users. 2 % of usable water resources are remaining to be allocated. By 2030 it is estimated that 17.7 Billion mᵌ will be the water demand, this is beyond the limit of what can be allocated. WWF, 2016.
WATER POLLUTION IN SOUTH AFRICA:
South Africa’s natural water resources are being polluted by mining, industry, agriculture, development and human settlements. We need a dramatic turn-around to address pollution levels and prevent further pollution.
According the WWF, 2016, a comprehensive datasheet, indicates that of most of South African rivers and dams has scientifically deteriorated over the past 20 years. In some areas water resource quality poses a serios health risk to humans and livestock.
The combination of a growing population, increased urbanisation, inadequate
maintenance of freshwater and wastewater systems, and the long-term consequences of acid mine drainage, all point to a worsening situation.
The most prevalent contaminant sources affecting water quality throughout South
Africa are:
- Poorly treated sewage effluent from failing sewage treatment works;
- Poor sanitation in informal settlements and rural areas;
- Mining and ore processing activities, particularly acid mine drainage (AMD);
- Industrial effluents containing pharmaceutical endocrine-disrupting chemicals
- in the manufacturing of products such as shampoo, pesticides, dyes and
- plastics; and
- Agricultural runoff including fertilisers, sediment and pesticides.
Excess Nutrients:
Excess nutrients, in the form of nitrogen and phosphates, are the most widespread water pollutants. High phosphate levels do not occur naturally, and they always indicate human impacts, typically from fertilisers or sewage. Wastewater treatment works in South Africa were primarily designed to deal with the breakdown of nitrogen, but phosphates entering the system go largely untreated.
South Africa’s rivers in their natural state have very low levels of phosphate. Our rivers can assimilate and buffer elevated levels of nitrogen to a certain degree, but phosphates cannot be assimilated in the same way.
Phosphates are a game changer, altering the way a river system works. Through eutrophication, they can alter the composition and functioning of river systems. Algal blooms may also contain toxic cyanobacteria, which pose a risk to the health of humans and animals. WWF, 2016
Water Related Diseases: “Pure Water is the World’s First and Foremost Medicine” – Slovakian Proverb
There are many different infectious water-related diseases, including gastroenteritis, amoebiasis, salmonellosis, dysentery, cholera, typhoid fever and hepatitis A. Diarrhoea is a common symptom of these diseases which can become a major health hazard in regions without well-managed sanitation, where faecal material and non-treated sewage gets into the water supplies. Despite a general decline in deaths as a result of diarrhoea over the last half century, it remains one of the most important causes of illness and death in children.
Poor communities have the highest burden of inadequate water services and consequent disease. People in underserviced areas pay high prices to purchase clean, safe water and are often faced with unreliable supplies. Underserviced areas are also the areas with some of the highest health risks through faecal contamination and consequently the key areas in which diarrhoea is most prevalent.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, approximately 1.4 million people die from diarrhoea and other preventable diseases caused by polluted water annually. WWF, 2016
SANITATION STATISTICS IN SOUTH AFRICA:
Globally, there are 2.4 billion people without access to adequate sanitation. There are 45 countries in the world where less than half of the population has access to adequate sanitation and hygiene.
In South Africa, the sanitation backlog stood at 20.5 million (or 51% of all households) in 1994. The country has made significant progress since then and turned this around to achieve the Millennium Development Goals for sanitation in 2008, but there is still significant work to be done. For example, in 2015, 4.9% of South Africans had no toilet at all and 19.5% of South Africans are still without an improved sanitation service.
Wastewater services delivery is performed by 152 Water Services Authorities (WSAs)
in South Africa via an infrastructure network of 824 wastewater collector and treatment systems. A total operational flow of 5,128.8 Ml/day is received at the 824 treatment facilities, which have a collective hydraulic design capacity of 6,509.7 Ml/
day.
This means that 78% of the existing design capacity is currently accounted for, leaving a theoretical surplus of 22% as available capacity for future demand, although many individual plants have no surplus and run at full capacity.
In south Africa, even though there are 824 sewage treatment works, less than 10% of these treatment works release clean water into our river resources systems. (S.Kings)
IMPACTS OF POLLUTED WATER ON HUMANS:
Many water borne diseases are spreading man to man. Heavy rainfall and floods are related to extreme weather and creating different diseases for developed and developing countries. 10% of the population depends on food and vegetables that are grown in contaminated water. Many waterborne infectious diseases are linked with fecal pollution of water sources and results in fecal-oral route of infection. Health risk associated with polluted water includes different diseases such as respiratory disease, cancer, diarrheal disease, neurological disorder and cardiovascular disease.
Nitrogenous chemicals are responsible for cancer and blue baby syndrome. Mortality rate due to cancer is higher in rural areas than urban areas because urban inhabitants use treated water for drinking while rural people don’t have facility of treated water and use unprocessed water
Poor quality water destroys the crop production and infects our food which is hazardous for aquatic life and human life. Pollutants disturb the food chain and heavy metals, especially iron affects the respiratory system of fishes. An iron clog into fish gills and it is lethal to fishes, when these fishes are eaten by human leads to the major health issue. Metal contaminated water leads to hair loss, liver cirrhosis, renal failure and neural disorder.
BACTERIAL DISEASES:
Untreated drinking water and fecal contamination of water is the major cause of diarrhea. Campylobacter jejuni spread diarrhea 4% to 15% worldwide. Fever, abdominal pain, nausea, headache are major symptoms of diarrhea. Good hygienic practices and use of antibiotics can prevent this disease. Disease cholera is caused by the contaminated water. Vibrio Cholerae is responsible for this disease. This bacterium produces toxins in digestive tracts. The symptoms of this disease are watery diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and watery diarrhea leads to dehydration and renal failure. Anti- microbial treatment is used to get rid of this disease.
Shigellosis is a bacterial disease caused by Shigella bacteria. It affects the digestive tract of humans and damages the intestinal lining. Watery or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting and nausea are symptoms and it can be cured with antibiotics and good hygienic practice. Salmonellosis infects the intestinal tract. Salmonella bacteria are found in contaminated water and it results in inflammation of intestine and often death occurs. Antibiotics are prescribed for this disease.
VIRAL DISEASES:
Hepatitis is a viral disease caused by contaminated water and infects the liver. Jaundice, loss of appetite, fatigue, discomfort and high fever are symptoms of hepatitis. If it persists for a long time it may be fatal and results in death. Vaccine is available for hepatitis and by adopting good hygienic practice; one can get rid of this disease. Encephalitis is inflammatory disease spread by bite of infected mosquitoes. Culex mosquito lays their eggs in contaminated water. Most people don’t show any symptoms, but some symptoms are headache, high fever, muscle stiffness, convulsions however in severe cases coma and paralysis results. No vaccine is available for this disease.
Poliomyelitis virus is responsible for poliomyelitis. Sore throat, fever, nausea, constipation and diarrhea and sometimes paralysis are symptoms of poliomyelitis. Vaccine is available for this disease. Gastroenteritis is caused by different viruses including rotaviruses, adenoviruses, calciviruses and Norwalk virus. Symptoms of gastroenteritis are vomiting, headache and fever. Symptoms appear 1 to 2 days after infecting. Sickness can be dangerous among infants, young children and disabled person.
PARASITIC DISEASES:
Cryptosporidiosis is a parasitic disease caused by the cryptosporidium parvum. It is worldwide disease and symptoms are diarrhea, lose or watery bowls, stomach cramps and upset stomach. Cryptosporidium is resistant to disinfection and affects immune system and it is the cause of diarrhoea and vomiting in humans. Galloping amoeba is caused by the Entamoeba histolytica and affects stomach lining.
This parasite undergoes cyst and non-cyst form. Infection occurs when cyst found in contaminated water and it is swallowed. Symptoms are fever, chills and watery diarrhea. According to WHO, diarrheal cases are about 4 billion and results in 2.2 million deaths. Giardiasis is caused by Giardia lamblia. Cells of intestinal lining may become injure. Giardia is resistant to wintry temperature and disinfectant. Sometimes it is known as travelers’ disease. People suffering from giardiasis have symptoms bloating, excess gas, watery diarrhea and weight loss. (Mehtab Haseena*, Muhammad Faheem Malik, Asma Javed, Sidra Arshad, Nayab Asif, Sharon Zulfiqar and Jaweria Hanif, July 2017)
“Thousands have lived without Love, Not one without Water” – W.H Auden
