Toxic rivers killing SA

ECONOMIC SUICIDE: GOVT CAN’T RESOLVE IT

Johannes Wessels

In a water-scarce country like SA, government’s incapacity to protect scarce natural resources, amounts to much more than an ecological disaster: it borders on economic suicide. Like people, no enterprise can thrive without access to reliable water.

Government has systematically undermined its own water resources by extending the poor ecological condition of main rivers by an astounding 500% within just 12 years, with some rivers pushed beyond the point of recovery.

Municipalities have discharged about 4.3 billion litres of raw or poorly-treated sewage into rivers and dams daily, according to water expert Anthony Turton.

This has compromised the viability of several irrigation farmers, with some fresh-produce products from polluted areas already on the do-not-procure lists of local supermarkets.

These actions undermine investment, and threaten some of the most lucrative exports from South Africa. Fresh fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetable products may be banned from the EU and possibly other markets.

“If international food safety certifiers carry out tests and find E.coli in the water because sewerage is not properly managed, it directly threatens the export market,” WWF’s Inge Kotze says.

Some of SA’s big distributors of fresh horticultural produce have stopped procuring certain products from farms irrigated with water from the Hartbeespoort Dam. “Outlets like Woolies no longer source leafy greens,” says Turton.

The radical transformation of the Vaal River into the Cloaca Maxima (greatest sewer) by discharging raw sewage adds momentum. This undermines tourism since freshwater fishing, water-skiing, rafting and kayaking in polluted waters is unpleasant; and threatens the livelihoods of all downstream from the Vaal Dam.

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is damaging the economy:

It neglected to ensure in-time bulk water supply to Cape Town. These restrictions had negative impacts on small enterprises in particular. The shenanigans of then-minister Nomvula Mokonyane also delayed the raising of the Clanwilliam Dam for years. These delays deprived vegetable, fruit and grape producers along the Olifants River from planned expansion.

DWS is also responsible for monitoring the quality of treated wastewater before releasing it into rivers. It is in this context that the Blue Drop and Green Drop reports are crucial. Yet the updated reports weren’t released. The 2014 reports, which weren’t released until 2017, recorded a 55% decline in the number of water supply systems receiving Blue Drop status. Despite this, deputy director-general Anil Singh said there was no reason for alarm: “The drinking water we have in SA is among the best in the world.”

Based on what DWS acknowledges in its draft Master Plan, it is clear “Brown Drop” is more accurate than Green Drop status.

Johannes Wessels is director of the Enterprise Observatory of SA (EOSA). This article was published with permission from EOSA.