South Africa is home to some of the most beautiful rivers on the African continent. These rivers form an important part of the country’s ecosystem. Most of the farms and industries depend on rivers as a source of water for irrigation and industrial processes. The rivers are also rich sources of nutrients for most of the farms along the river banks (world atlas).

As Environmental Consultants, we have had the privilege to visit most of these rivers, especially within the Gauteng region. We have also performed various studies on the ecosystems and current health statuses of the rivers and the results are alarming. Rivers such as the Jukskei, Hennops, Klip, Apies and various tributaries (perennial or non-perennial) are mainly influenced, affected and polluted by human activities such as unmaintained sewer systems, treatment plants and also informal settlements situated on the banks of the rivers.

It is evident that a lack of knowledge and law enforcement has caused the rivers to be in such an alarming state. The reason for this is simple:

Developments:

As a result of the population growth and the unemployment rate increasing on a rapid scale, the people are constructing/squatting directly next to the rivers and tributaries. No licenses have been obtained to be able to perform the construction next to the river and no law enforcement is being implemented. The reason for this is most likely due to the ease of access to a water resource. These rivers now serve as a place for bathing themselves and children, dumping of plastics and nappies and also a place to go to the toilet. (in various instances have we encountered human excrement next to the rivers)

Waste Water Treatment Works:

As mentioned in the paragraph above, with the population growth expanding at an alarming rate every year, South Africa’s Waste Water Treatment Works cannot handle the increased volumes of effluent. Thus, if there is no capacity for the treatment plants to cater for all the additional effluent, damages and a lack of maintenance is causing illegal discharging into the river systems. This has also been observed during some of our site visits.

A Study done on the Juksei River (in May 2016, Olivia Exstruim)

A study done in May 2016, titled “Stench, sewage seeping from the Jukskei” by Olivia Exstruim has indicated that the study of the Jukskei river’s water found that the E.coli count in some parts of the river was 450 000 per 100ml of water more than 1000 times of the tolerable limit of 400 counts per 100 ml. Mr Masemola, the director of waste management and biodiversity in the city’s environment and infrastructure services department stated the following “Because there is no longer rain, we failed to realise that sewage was flowing into the river”.

It is evident in the tables below that most of the water quality variables that exceed the Target Water Quality Objectives are the total Fecal Coliforms, Total Dissolved Solids and E-coli. “According to the Department of Health, New York State, the water pollution caused by fecal contamination is a serious problem due to the potential for contracting diseases from pathogens (disease causing organisms). Frequently, concentrations of pathogens from fecal contamination are small, and the number of different possible pathogens is large. As a result, it is not practical to test for pathogens in “every water sample collected. Instead, the presence of pathogens is determined with indirect evidence by testing for an “indicator” organism such as coliform bacteria. Coliforms come from the same sources as pathogenic organisms. Coliforms are relatively easy to identify, are usually present in larger numbers than more dangerous pathogens, and respond to the environment, wastewater treatment, and water treatment similarly to many pathogens”

The tables below indicate the water qualities compared to the target water quality as set by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) of a few of the rivers (The result obtained were obtained in each of the respective rivers on the date of assessment, these results were also site specific, in accordance to the specific study).

Klipspruit (Tributary of the Klip River) Water Quality

Tributary of the Hennops River water quality

Apies River water quality (Quality results obtained from Galago)

In conclusion, it is evident in the tables above that most of the water quality variables that exceed the Target Water Quality Objectives are the total Fecal Coliforms, Total Dissolved Solids and E-coli.