River Mile in Jeopardy due to Human Waste Pollution
www.MyPE.co.za:
Africa’s oldest open-water swimming event, the Spar Redhouse River
Mile, is in jeopardy due to toxic levels of human waste in the
Swartkops River.
“The water quality is totally unacceptable at the moment and unlikely
to improve over the next month,” says race organiser, Mike Zoetmulder
of Zports in Port Elizabeth.
“Therefore, for the safety of our participants, we cannot go ahead.”
Zoetmulder says they are “exploring” other options in order to save the
86th edition of the event, including relocating it to the Gamtoos River.
He says the pollution issue has been addressed with the Nelson Mandela
Bay Metro over the past 18 months and to date it appears that no action
has been taken.
“The pollution levels show chronic, off the chart spikes that are
becoming more frequent,” says Zoetmulder. He says the situation is
being exacerbated by the ongoing drought.
According to Jenny Rump, environmental officer at the Zwartkops Trust,
the problem emanates from raw sewage flowing into the river and estuary
- with the Motherwell storm water canal being the main culprit.
“There are also serious sewage leaks in the upper Swartkops-area above
Perseverance. We are aware of leaks in the pipelines on both sides of
the Kelvin Jones Water Reclamation Works in Uitenhage.”
Rump blames this on a lack of maintenance by the municipality.
Although the metro monitors the quality of the water, the Zwartkops
Trust – a voluntary body established in 1968 with the objective of
preserving the river and estuary – is now conducting its own tests.
Readings from samples taken in the upper Swartkops-area (Uitenhage and
Despatch) on January 16 confirm “very high” levels of faecal coli,
according to chemistry expert and Zwartkops Trust vice-chairman Dr Hugh
Laue.
“We took one-off samples at Uitenhage and Despatch and the counts were
over 2 000 and 800 respectively.” He says they are awaiting results
from samples taken in the Redhouse-area on January 21.
Laue says, in terms of legislation, waste water or effluent shall
contain zero typical (faecal) coli per 100 millilitres. He says faecal
coli are bacteria that originate from faeces.
“There are several forms, but we are isolating the Escherichia coli (E.
coli) numbers.”
Laue says the average E. coli counts (per 100ml) in samples taken by
the metro during November last year were: upper Perseverance 158
(maximum 950), lower Perseverance 94 (300), Redhouse 29 (200),
Motherwell canal 33 547 (120 000), Brickfields Village 2 319 (11 300)
and Swartkops 294 (2 000).
He says the health risk is due to sewage possibly containing pathogens
and viruses that cause diseases, some of which could be fatal.
Rump says she has been attending meetings of the Coastal Management
Forum – which is chaired by the metro – on behalf of the Zwartkops
Trust for the better part of two years and the problem has been
discussed at length.
She says, according to media reports, a burst pipe at Kelvin Jones was
responsible for the major fish kill in the Swartkops last September.
“At the suggestion of some frustrated metro officials, we actually
wrote a letter to the mayor listing our concerns regarding ongoing
sewage spills entering the Swartkops.
“It seems certain sections (of the metro) are guilty of not performing
their tasks or are under capacitated and that other departments have
little control over this.”
Rump says little has come of the letter – dated November 19, 2009 -
other than the metro admitting that a spillage from Kelvin Jones did
enter the river.
Zoetmulder says it is almost inconceivable that the future of the race
is being threatened as a result of negligence. “Apart from World War
II, the race has only been cancelled once (in 1971) and that was due to
flooding.
“We strive to establish Nelson Mandela Bay as Africa’s watersport
capital and all our events have the backing of the metro. I’m therefore
convinced that the matter will be dealt with before next year’s race as
I cannot see them continually neglecting our recreational water.”
With 970 participants last year, the Redhouse River Mile has shown a
growth of more than 30 percent over the past two years.
According to Rump, Swartkops is considered one of the most important
estuaries in the country. “It is a unique asset that is relatively well
preserved considering it is within the metropolitan boundary.
“The health threat from ongoing sewage pollution is totally
unacceptable.”
Redhouse Swimmers in
1895.
Image courtesy of Brenda
- currently retired in Florida, United States.
Eds Notes:
- Not only is the high E. Coli count threatening to destroy
the annual Redhouse River Mile but also the health of many recreational
sailors, swimmers, rowers and fishermen who frequent the Redhouse River
on an ongoing basis. - Redhouse Yacht Club stages sailing
regattas every weekend of the sailing season. This past weekend saw 60
boats with their crew and spectators converge on Redhouse for the Inter
Club Regatta. Should sailors from outside Port Elizabeth fall ill as a
result of the high E. Coli count it will spell the end of sailing in
the river. - Grey High School, the NMMU and Zwartkops rowing clubs use the
river almost 7 days a week for training – almost 200 fit and highly
trained athletes are being exposed on a daily basis to debilitating
disease. Regular and well attended rowing regattas will further expose
hundreds of athletes from outside of Port Elizabeth to this danger. - Over the years that we have frequented the Redhouse area we
have noticed a sharp decline in bird and aquatic species. It has almost
become normal to ensure that all open sores and cuts are covered with
Vaseline before venturing into the water as we have far too often had
small cuts become festering sores. - It is inconceivable that our Metro can allow an asset such
as the Zwartkops River to deteriorate to such a degree. - The earliest image we have of swimming at Redhouse dates back to 1895.
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