Sewage spills ‘a silent killer of dolphins’
Stench affecting health and eroding residents’ property prices
Baby dolphins are believed to be dying from infections picked up from coming into contact with sewage pouring out of Eastern Cape rivers.
Detailed pathology tests and investigations are under way, according to East London Museum scientist Kevin Cole.
But his preliminary examinations at the site, where he took samples, had led him to believe sewage contamination is a big causal possibility.
“Dolphins host parasites, such as liver flukes or tape worms and nematode worms [that live in the sinuses]. A dolphin with an impaired immunity allows the parasites to flourish and this can cause death,” Cole said.
He is convinced that six out of the 16 dolphin fatalities and whale strandings along the East Coast and Buffalo City Metro coastline in the last eight months are sewage-related, but says he wants final confirmation from the pathology reports. These tests are still ongoing.
He said the majority of the suspected sewage deaths were among neonatal dolphins (younger than four weeks) whose immune systems could not handle the high level of pollutants in local waters.
In total, four dead neonatal dolphins and two adult striped dolphins were found in the areas of Chintsa West, Chintsa East, Bonza Bay and the Inhlanza (known as the “Turdy”) river mouth at Nahoon.
Cole said: “To date we are still investigating strandings related solely to pollution. With the high levels of sewage in the areas mentioned and the high number of young dolphins stranding, there will most likely be a connection for some deaths.”
He said the recent increase in the number of strandings along the coastline had raised a red flag. Cole said the tests would give a clearer picture as to whether cetaceans (aquatic mammals) stranded along the coast had a compromised immune system, due to sewage-infested waters, making it harder for them to fight bacterial and fungal infections.
“In the past, we have had a dwarf sperm whale at HagaHaga and a True’s beaked whale at Chintsa Bay – both with loads of parasitic worms.”
He said high levels of pollutants in the Buffalo River had also resulted in some fish species becoming contaminated with toxins.
“When a dolphin eats these contaminated fish, the toxins are not always eliminated in the waste, but instead are stored in the blubber, fatty tissues and
The majority of the suspected sewage deaths were among neonatal dolphins whose immune systems could not handle pollutants
breast milk.
“This in turn can cause the chemicals to impair the reproductive system of cows and bulls, resulting in birth defects in calves. Other common diseases which can be caused by toxins in dolphins are skin infections and pneumonia. Toxins are also known to attack the brain of a dolphin,” said Cole.
He said the Buffalo, Inhlanza, Nahoon and Quenera rivers were known for having continuous sewage spills. There were also known issues of high sewage and other pollutants spewing into the local coast from the Hood Point and Bat’s Cave sewage outfalls, as well as sewage seepage from some East Coast villages, he said.
“The summation of this does not bode well for our marine system and most of the organisms in the tropic structure will be affected.”
A number of Buffalo City Metro’s rivers have been exposed to raw sewage and are contaminated – something that fills many residents with rage.
The small Ihlanza River, which winds through the affluent suburbs of East London, is badly affected.
Many residents who spoke to the Daily Dispatch said the stench was unbearable.
The Dispatch team walked along the river and saw people jogging and walking their dogs. A foul smell from the river led to a number of people holding their noses while walking close to the stream.
Nahoon resident Chris Snyman, who was walking his dogs in Stirling, said he never went without containers of water for his dogs.
“I won’t allow them to drink this contaminated water from the river. It’s not advisable for dogs to drink this water,” said Snyman.
“All we need is the authorities to clean these rivers. And this one goes all the way to the sea.
“You can actually see it as it enters next to the lifesavers’ shack on Nahoon beach.”
A specialist contractor from Johannesburg, Morris Jacobs, said he had heard of people wanting to move away from the river.
“There are upmarket flats facing this stream and when it is hot, you can smell this from a distance. Some want to move away because it can affect their house values,” he said.
Higher up the Nahoon River, near Abbotsford, the Dispatch found the river severely choked with algae and invasive alien plants.
Groups of people who walked their dogs and jogged in the Abbotsford area were unhappy.
“There’s a rotten smell that comes from this river every day. We hardly smell the fresh water that used to run here,” said Marinda Jackson.
Her partner, who would only call himself “Arnold”, said they used to watch fish swimming in the water. “It was always nice to watch big and small fish swimming here and disappearing under this bridge. But today they are all dead. Nothing can live in this filth. It’s heartbreaking.”
A farmworker and fisherman, Sibonile Makwanka, told the Dispatch that he did not know what was happening in the area “as he grew up next to this beautiful river”.
“This is smelly and you can see that it is not healthy. I used to fish here. Then the fish became scarce and vanished.
“The water is turning green,” said Makwanka.
Fishing, he said, was his way of “keeping out of trouble”.
“I just cannot understand why government will allow this to turn like this. You can see that water is underneath the big grass but this sewage is floating on top.”
Makwanka said not far from the river there was a new development. “They are building a beautiful estate on this river bank. I hope that this won’t affect the buyers.”
East London mother and nurse Simone van Emmenes, who works as a sonographer at British Africa Travel Clinic in Southernwood, told the Dispatch her son, Elan, 16, a rower, was affected by contaminated water in the Buffalo River.
She said he had suffered from diarrhoea.
“Other kids were affected by this as well. We are not sure if the water is tested before they practise or compete,” she said.
She urged people to be vaccinated before competing in the Buffalo River water.
She said they needed hepatitis A vaccines, proteins and multivitamins.
“You just won’t know what is there. Adults and schoolkids who row must always take preventative vaccines. They always swallow water when they are competing.”
Elan, who has won awards for U15 and U16 rowing competitions, practises at least five times a week.
“There used to be dolphins in the river but I don’t know what happened. The water at times is awful. You can see that it is dirty,” he said.
The fish became scarce and vanished
Nurse urges preventive vaccines before rowing on the Buffalo River