Battle in the water war
FACED with Durban’s never-ending assault on its waterways by industrial and domestic pollution, a nongovernmental organisation has started to transform a section of the Mngeni riverbank with the vision of creating a cycle path and chameleon sanctuary.
But even as Adopt A River makes progress in Springfield, its staff have seen illegal dumping continuing unabated across the water, on the southern bank.
Today, however, it and other civic organisations including Green Corridors, The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa) and South African Association for Marine Biological Research (Saambr), and volunteers, will focus on the beaches as part of International Coastal Clean-up Day.
By then, some muck up river might even have reached the ocean. Maybe even the beaches.
Like the vile-looking frothy, stinking muck at the bottom of a steep concrete staircase leading down to the water's edge.
“People will have to start doing things the right way and stop polluting our rivers,” Adopt A River intern Azile Mpukwana told The Independent on Saturday, standing beside the body of water, one patch of which was bubbling.
“It’s putting marine life (a couple of kilometres downriver) at risk. There won’t be any fish alive here in this water. Think of all the animals that will die from this.”
At the beach clean-up, Wessa will also launch Don’t Mess With Mzansi, an anti-litter campaign “that goes much deeper”, according to KZN chairperson Margaret Burger.
“It is (also) about respect for the environment and places where we live and which we inhabit as humans but also as other creatures as part of a shared ecosystem.”
Meanwhile, 13 beaches that were opened last weekend were scheduled to remain open “until results from eThekwini’s accredited laboratory indicate that a different decision needs to be taken”, said city spokesman Msawakhe Mayisela.
Umhlanga, among others, would remain closed having been impacted by a blockage at the Macausland pump station, he said.
“The blockage has since been removed, but the water quality is still not at acceptable levels.”
Mayisela added that to enable the public to make informed decisions, the council would increase the frequency of testing at bathing beaches and would publicly share these results.
“Some of the unease about water quality results can be traced back to inconsistent understanding of how sampling and testing works,” he said..
“For results to be comparable they need to have come from the same sample, given how dynamic sea conditions are. The handling of the sample, its transportation and storage can also affect the result.”
While Adopt A River has been testing water regularly for some time, citizen scientists who have been provided with water testing kits by WaterCan, a network of citizen science activists and community organisations who advocate for clean, safe and sustainable water supply, are also doing so.
WaterCan falls under the anti-corruption advocacy organisation, Outa.
One volunteer, Bo Dayal, took an hour off yesterday to test water quality in the reeking Isipingo Lagoon.
He said chemical testing could be done in 10 minutes and a microbiological test in about 72 hours.
“On the chemical parameters one can test for the total hardness of the water, the chlorine and the alkalinity in terms of the pH. On the biological side, test for colony-forming units, E. coli,” said Dayal, who has a chemistry background.
He said it was empowering to provide plenty of current water quality information because it could help get those in power to do something about the problem.
“We need more activists and we need more people to be aware of their surroundings in terms of having a safe environment, and protecting the environment from environmental degradation.”
He said the test could be used on water anywhere – even out of one’s tap.
“You don’t need to have a formal qualification. It’s very user friendly and a little guidance comes with the kit.”
Dayal said he had chosen the Isipingo Lagoon because about a month ago it had been littered with dead fish.
“That would have led to a lot of toxins being released into the water. Unfortunately, there’s no openness and transparency in terms of obtaining the information with regard to chemical testing and microbiological contamination of the water.”
He said he decided to use the opportunity provided by WaterCan and Outa to “do something independent of the council and perhaps give more information and insight into what’s happening to our water in the eThekwini region”.