Pollution of Kruger's Rivers

Information and Discussions on Water Management in Kruger
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Richprins
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Re: Pollution of Kruger's Rivers

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Sewage spillage threatens the health of residents
Dead fish were recently found in the farm dams supplied by the canals leading downstream from the White River Waste Water Treatment Plant. The reason for this was dysfunctional internal sewerage processes.
7 hours ago

Elize Parker

MBOMBELA – The drought, coupled with poor management of waste water and inadequate maintenance, poses threats to the water quality of the Crocodile and White rivers. A concern expressed by members of the Crocodile River Forum during a recent meeting, was that Kwena Dam was only 22 per cent full.

The prediction from the South African Weather Services is that rainfall for November to December will be slightly higher than normal. Dams in the Crocodile River catchment supplying the Lowveld need more than that. The river water is also contaminated with E. coli because of sewage spillages and disfunctional pump stations.

The forum once again had to take note of the fact that a large percentage of water released into the river by municipal treatment plants is not properly treated. Sewage full of bacteria and pathogens is thus released back into the river.

Dead fish were recently found in the farm dams supplied by the canals leading downstream from the White River Waste Water Treatment Plant.

The White River Conservation Board reported that the water had had a bad smell for over a week. The reason for this was dysfunctional internal sewerage processes.

The above consists of three phases of which only phase three is working. The waste from White River and surrounds that needs to be processed at the plant is 4,5 megalitres per day. Phase three can only handle three megalitres per day. The other two phases have not worked in years. Stinky, contaminated water is released into the river every day which endangers the health of everyone downstream from the plant.

Mr Joseph Ngala, spokesman for City of Mbombela Local Municipality (CMLM), said phase two was being refurbished and was due to be completed by the end of November.

“The other phases are also budgeted for in the coming financial year,” he said. Since a meeting in June, one of the sewerage pump stations at KaBokweni has been repaired and is operational again. The second station was not working when an inspection was done three weeks ago because CMLM had not paid its Eskom account.

Ngala informed Lowvelder on Wednesday that the pump stations were both working and the account had been paid up to date.

The malfunctioning pump stations have exposed people to raw sewage, which has been flowing down the Nzikasi River along the Kruger National Park’s western boundary for more than a year.

Meetings of catchment forums are public platforms for dialogue around water affairs instituted by the minister of water affairs. During the meeting most members took note that a certain police colonel did not attend despite being invited. Some of the members felt that as an SAPS member, he should attend the meeting as non-compliance with the Water Act is part of their policing duty.

Other members felt that attendance by the media and SAPS would lead to stakeholders not attending the meeting.

One member of the forum said, “If media and SAPS attend it will scare off stakeholders.”

http://lowvelder.co.za/360426/sewage-sp ... residents/


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Lisbeth
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Re: Pollution of Kruger's Rivers

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Here we go again 0*\ When do they learn? 0=


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Richprins
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Re: Pollution of Kruger's Rivers

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Lisbeth wrote:Has the situation from two years back been resolved?

As you can see, Lis..it is only temporarily resolved now and again.. 0:

The theft of power cables to pumps is sometimes true, and sometimes an accepted excuse. There is a whole corruption thing as well, as sometimes officials/crooks go and sell water in settlements to make a buck etc. It is a countrywide problem, and a question of national security...


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Re: Pollution of Kruger's Rivers

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O/ O/


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Re: Pollution of Kruger's Rivers

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International conference on water issues held in KNP


Global water affairs were last week discussed at Skukuza by experts from all over the world.
26 mins ago

Mariana Balt



SKUKUZA – Water experts from around the globe descended on the Kruger National Park last week, where the 14th International Water Association (IWA) specialist conference took place at the Nombolo Mdhluli Conference Centre.
It was hosted by the IWA Watershed and River Basin Management (WRBM) specialist group, in partnership with the Water Institute for Southern Africa and IWA South Africa.

The conference was chaired and directed by Gareth McConkey, who also chaired the local organising committee.
The human element of watershed and river basin management, as well as the complexity of the interests of urban development versus the natural world were discussed.

The first day’s keynote address by Dr Aaron Wolf, professor of geography at Oregon State University USA, suggested that mediation of transboundary water conflicts should combine science, problem-solving and cultural sensitivity to combine 21st century insights with ancient wisdom and spirituality.



Several presentations over two days shed light on international practices in watershed and basin management.
South African presenters included Ashwin Seetal of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, who called for “active citizenry” to advance sustainable water management through reduced water use, pollution reduction and river restoration.

He suggested that such action should range from informal exchange of perspectives to highly structured processes, all with a shared sense of responsibility and accountability.

Nearer to home Thabo Rasiuba presented data on the occurrence and management of eutrophication, the overabundance of nutrients as a result of runoff from the surrounding land, in the White River sub-catchment of the Crocodile catchment area. He said this creates a significant water quality problem, affecting aquatic ecosystems, water availability and supply.

Dr Eddie Riddell, manager of aquatic biodiversity in the Kruger National Park, shared insights into their adaptive management of the perennial rivers in the park during drought periods and indicated how they learned from history.

The two-day conference was concluded with a panel discussion of the lessons learned and the way forward, chaired by John Riddiford (WRBM Australia) and followed by technical sessions the next day.

https://lowvelder.co.za/408777/internat ... d-skukuza/


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Re: Pollution of Kruger's Rivers

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.......cultural sensitivity to combine 21st century insights with ancient wisdom and spirituality......
I fear that both are missing.


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Re: Pollution of Kruger's Rivers

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Farming demands cleaning our water
Dr Cryton Zazu, natural resource management coordinator at the Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD), said that the whole Oliphants River Basin catchment area was being degraded by mining activity, an expanding human population, and an increase in agricultural production.
1 day ago

Lindi Botha

The Oliphants River Basin is in a critical condition. This could place the R1 billion export market, which relies on irrigation water, at risk.

Speaking at a seminar on sustainable water use at the University of Mpumalanga in Mbombela, Dr Cryton Zazu, natural resource management coordinator at the Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD), said that the whole Oliphants River Basin catchment area was being degraded by mining activity, an expanding human population, and an increase in agricultural production.

“Ecosystems are disappearing. Most of the rivers feeding into the Oliphants River are in a critical condition, as they are either not flowing or are very polluted. The drought and an increase in evaporation due to increased temperatures have concentrated the pollution in the rivers as the water levels have dwindled.”


This basin was the second-largest irrigation scheme in South Africa, but also the fifth largest coal-producing area in the country. Zazu added that those making the decisions in municipalities with regard to land use were not always aware of the consequences of expanding or allowing certain activities that rely on water usage. “This puts further strain on the whole system.”

Prof Moses Mbewe, dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Mpumalanga, added that it was imperative to ensure that the water pumped from rivers for agriculture was in the state it should be.

“We can’t use filthy water, because no matter how much you wash the produce, the possibility is still there that someone can become ill.”
He said that since water was becoming scarcer, the country needed to start prioritising what it was used for.


“There are many things we are using water for that we should not be using it for. We can’t continue to flush toilets with clean water. Agriculture should remain top priority for water usage. Without water for agriculture, we would be hungry and naked. Everything we eat and wear comes from a farm and requires water.”

The following was published in Farmer’s Weekly on July 27. This is a sister publication of Agri Pulse Lowveld.

https://lowvelder.co.za/445363/farming- ... ing-water/


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Re: Pollution of Kruger's Rivers

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E. coli could be possible source of mysterious diarrhoea
The Crocodile Catchment Forum (CCF) believes informal settlements could be the source or, at least, a large contributing factor to, the recent diarrhoea outbreak.
19 hours ago

Retha Nel
MALALANE – According to the most recent water-quality status report by the Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA), most of the areas in the catchment do not comply with regard
to E. coli levels.

There are several water monitoring points in the Crocodile River, including the bridge near KaNyamazane, Malelane Gate and near Crocodile Bridge Gate.


The report was presented at the quarterly CCF meeting at the Crocodile Lapa outside Malalane on Friday morning. Attendees included representatives from irrigation boards, the Kruger National Park, City of Mbombela and other stakeholders.

There was a spike in the E. coli levels in June which could explain the diarrhoea outbreak. CCF chairman Theo Dormehl asked attendees whether anyone had an idea where the outbreak could come from.

After a short silence, he stated that he believed the contamination was coming from informal settlements around the river. He explained that inadequate sewage in these places, as well as sewerage systems and waste-water treatment plants not being monitored and maintained, resulted in raw sewage seeping into water sources.

Crocodile Catchment Forum chairman Theo Dormehl with attendees from the Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency; Gary Robbertse, Joseph Mabunda, Winnie Mabuza, Gugu Motha and Hasani Makhubele.

In Tekwane South, over 1 000 stands are being built and due to inadequate infrastructure, waste ends up in the dams and rivers.

In KaNyamazane, there is untreated water spilling out of an air release pipe. Residents do not know this is unsafe to drink and regularly fill up their containers for household use, Dormehl said.

The CCF chairman stated that he had visited Machadodorp due to water wastage problems, and saw that raw sewage was spilling into the river from near one of the schools.


Several members mentioned that waste-water treatment works were often left unattended, which led to problems later on.

Although they were invited, representatives of the Nkomazi Local Municipality did not attend or give feedback on local challenges, and the representative of the City of Mbombela could not give much feedback on the issues on the CCF’s agenda.

These included non-compliant waste-water treatment works in White River, Rocky Drift and Barberton. During discussions, it was revealed that the municipality is in the process of refurbishing the plants and that a licence had already been granted to construct a small, one-megalitre, waste-water treatment plant next to the current one in Barberton.

At the end of July the Department of Health released a statement to warn people that the water could be the cause. The statement was later retracted as tests by several stakeholders ruled out water in the reticulation network as the source. According to authorities, the source of the outbreak is still unknown.


Kleinste Janse van Rensburg, DA councillor in Mbombela, said nobody could tell her the real rate of immigration and population growth in the Lowveld.

“Who is planning the urbanisation? We do not know how many people to plan for and infrastructure is collapsing.”

Much of the time allotted for discussion was devoted to the problem of littering and illegal dumping. Attendees agreed that it was essential that municipal by-laws are enforced.

The water quality in the rivers are considered generally good. IUCMA representatives explained that phosphate levels are at lower, safer levels as the compound (used as a foaming agent) was removed from soaps and detergents.


Dormehl said the CCF and stakeholders are installing probes throughout the catchment to monitor factors that indicate pollution.

Readings are taken every 12 minutes and problems can thus be monitored almost in live time via the Internet.

The CCF will meet in November to report back and see which need more intervention.

https://lowvelder.co.za/447847/e-coli-p ... diarrhoea/


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