Toxic river shame

IN LATE December a resident of Hout Bay was mugged while searching for the source of the polluted water in the Hout Bay River. Threatened at knifepoint and having had his finger bitten in the haste to get his wedding ring off, he was fortunate to walk off with his life. The river was less fortunate.

This is the second consecutive summer that the Hout Bay River has been overwhelmed by sewage linked to failed or inadequate infrastructure. In both cases the sheer volume of sewage, combined with the low flow of fresh water, has proven lethal to life.

Freshwater crabs exited in their droves as the oxygen levels in the water plummeted. Mullet gulped air at the water surface before going belly-up in their thousands, and two Cape clawless otters were found dead at the lagoon. A brief glut of scavenging birds, and then the river fell lifeless.

Residents and tourists who walk the beach crossed the river, oblivious to its dangers. How many will blame their next local eatery when the inevitable dose of gastro hits?

Killing rivers through negligence and poorly serviced infrastructure is a crime, and allowing citizens to be exposed to toxic water without providing adequate signage or notifications is criminal. Doing this during a drought is ridiculous.

The local community has engaged with the city on these matters through their catchment forum. We have proposed solutions that will greatly reduce the pollution and alert tourists to the threat. Still, the sewage flows.

As the city seeks new water sources (aquifers and desalination), we have to ask whether these, too, will be abused through poor management and maintenance, as is currently the case with our urban rivers. Justin O’Riain Hout Bay