‘River is making us ill’
Zandvlei residents say they are sick as a result of sewage running in to the Kuils River
LIFE-threatening toxins have been confirmed to be permeating the area at the Kuils River estuary in Zandvlei, close to Macassar, which runs alongside people’s homes. Residents have reported serious health issues as a consequence of the river.
The Kuils River, which runs past the City’s Zandvliet Wastewater Treatment Works, near the community, has a sewer pipe leading to a man-made stream, which is directed into the river and pours raw sewage into the water.
Bettina Genthe, senior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), said recent water testing showed E. coli and algae cyanotoxin, microcystin, a toxin with serious health implications, at more than 1 000 ug/L where the guideline is less than 10 ug/L.
The findings indicated that the toxin is known to cause liver inflammation, haemorrhage, acute pneumonia, acute dermatitis, kidney damage and potential tumour growth, which are symptoms some residents have complained about.
Resident Maryam Salie, a member of Sandvlei United Community Organisation, said: Everyone’s faces are burning and it’s not one or two of us. In my household in the last three weeks my children have got sick. They are on a nebuliser and on cortisone… The road divides the sewer from us. They (CSIR) do weekly air-quality tests in their vicinity every week. Their side (wastewater treatment works) is being treated, but our side isn’t.”
Salie arranged for the CSIR to test the water after receiving no positive solution from the City about the issue.
Ward councillor Ganief Hendricks said his request for intervention by the City did not receive urgent attention. He said a state of emergency needs to be declared to have the people in the area evacuated while the situation is addressed.
“They have been struggling for a year now for the City to have a pipeline from the plant to Macassar beach to bypass the river. People spend hundreds of rands at the doctor. They should lay criminal charges against the City if their family members die.”
Hendricks said the department of health has put up boards stating the river is toxic and sent a mobile clinic twice a month to help residents, but the junior nurses don’t have the proper equipment.
Mayco member for safety, security and social services JP Smith said City officials met the Sandvlei United Community on Tuesday and meetings have been held over the past few months to assist the residents.
“An epidemiological investigation is required to establish a causal link with the potential toxicity of exposure to the river. The City has agreed to provide the community with a time frame for this investigation in the next week. The health department will re-erect signage in the area to ensure all residents are aware that the river is not for swimming or drinking from.”
Mayco member for Informal Settlements, Water, Waste Services and Energy, Xanthea Limberg, said that in about three weeks’ time the river would be cleaned and banks straightened to improve flow and remove stagnant areas. She said this will give the City time to accommodate approval needed from landowners for the task.
Limberg said the treatment works will continue to use chlorine dosing to manage bacteria and toxins while other options to address nutrient reduction in the river will be investigated.