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Abstract

Pollution is an unwelcome concentration of substances that are beyond the environment’s capacity to
handle. All these substances are dangerous and toxic to people and all other living organisms. Pollution can
occur naturally (volcanic eruptions) or as result of human activity (burning coal). It is caused mainly by
human activity (the discharge of domestic, agricultural and industrial waste, application of pesticides by
farmers, gas emissions into the atmosphere and leaks of radioactive materials). This all leads to water
pollution.

Introduction

Pollution levels have increased so much in amount and toxicity globally that the levels are no longer
accepted. In South Africa, one of the never declining levels of pollution is on water. Water pollution is the
contamination of water systems and storages like dams, rivers, lakes and oceans caused by human
activities. It affects many people in South Africa, especially the poor communities with small
municipalities. This in turn is harmful to aquatic plants and animals. The amount and toxicity has been
increasing together with increasing human population and continuously improving technology. Water
pollution is now worse than 17-years ago and it is so expensive and almost impossible to control.

Discussion

When toxic substances enter dams, rivers and other water bodies, they either dissolve or lie suspended in
water. This results in water pollution whereby the water quality deteriorates. Pollutants can also seep down
into the soil and affect the groundwater deposits.

Due to the ever growing population in South Africa, more houses are needed meaning more toilets and
bathrooms and so sewage generated from the urban areas has multiplied over the years. The problem today
is that the sanitary sewage is deposited in wrong places. These domestic sewages (wastewater that is
deposited from households) carry a wide variety of dissolved and suspended impurities. The main organic
materials from sewages are faeces, chemical soaps and washing powders. In the past people used soaps
made from animal and vegetable fat (Dr Bronner’s soap) for all types of washing .But most of today’s
cleaning agents are synthetic and come from petrochemical industries. Most of these detergents and
washing powders contain phosphates used to soften the water among other things. Phosphates and other
chemicals in washing powders affect the health of all forms of life in the water.

Domestic sewage is very likely to contain disease-causing microbes. In the Kwazulu Natal, drinking water
contaminated with bacteria causing cholera affects most of the rural communities. In Mpumalanga,
bacteria causing typhoid caused the government to do some hard work on the community’s drinking water.

Municipal refuse dumps also add on to water pollution. Urban areas need these municipal landfills as
residents cannot burn or store their garbage in their back yards as in rural areas. With increasing population
in South Africa and people moving to urban areas in large numbers, more refuse dumps need to be erected.
Cape Town municipality has six refuse dumps. Out of the six Swartklip, Brackenfell and Faure are at
present full. Visseshok, Bellville South and Coastal Park are in operation and statistically, will reach
capacity in the next five to thirteen years.
All kinds of waste are dumped, liquid and solid. Leaching of contaminants into groundwater causes
problems and methane gas generation. The leaching is caused by water and liquids already in the waste,
precipitation and liquid by-products of microbial action during aerobic degradation of waste.

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Water passes through the waste picking up all the soluble contaminants of the decaying waste. Leaching
leaves the waste contaminating either groundwater or surface water. This leaching contaminated water
carries the toxic materials to the water sources used for human activity.

Another factor that is contributing to water pollution is agricultural waste or agricultural run-off. The way
in which a farmer uses his land for agriculture and cultivation greatly affects the quality of ground water,
lakes, rivers and dams. During intensive cultivation, chemicals from fertilizers like nitrate, potassium and
phosphorus, leach into the groundwater. As more and more applications of fertilizers and pesticides occur,
the more microelements (N, K, and P) leach into the ground water therefore causing water pollution.

The high nitrate concentration in groundwater is mainly from irrigation leaching from agricultural areas
where fertilizers are used indiscriminately.
The problem is that more and more farms are erected all over South Africa because of food shortages
meaning, for better production agricultural precautions need to be taken into consideration. Fertilizers are
used to improve production and quality of crops and pesticides are used to keep away all the unwanted
pests that can attack the crops.
Some dams tend to have high concentration of this microelements affecting causing water pollution
affecting water for domestic use.

Most strong and effective pesticides were banned from the market. In the past DDT was used to control
malaria in many countries and pests in agriculture. Now it was banned because it causes problems that are
far more serious. It is transferred in the food chain from insects to birds to fish and to mammals, occupying
the fatty tissue. It also affects the humans via the crops affected. When pesticides get to the rivers or dams,
they affect the aquatic organisms very badly. Some fish end up producing soft eggs.

Since post apartheid, the number of industries has grown rapidly boosting the employment rate in South
Africa. The waste water from industries usually contains specific chemical compounds that can be very
harmful to living organisms. Therefore, waste water from industries contributes to water pollution. Most of
these defaulting industries are chemical industries, distillers, leather processing industries and thermal
power stations.
All the waste water ends up in the rivers, which in turn is a bad effect on aquatic organisms and other
terrestrial organisms that depend on the water. For instance, AECI Midlands plant outside Sasolburg
discards mercury that flows into the Vaal River.

When all this waste domestic sewerages, industrial waste, municipal refuse dumps and agricultural waste
end up in a water body, a major problem occurs. A process called eutrophication occurs. Eutrophication is
the process which occurs when the nutrient concentration in river or dam or lake increases resulting in the
stimulation of algal growth which has significant effects on the aquatic ecosystems. Important dams in
South Africa are at high risk of eutrophication. The Hartebeespoort dam, one of the major recreational and
tourist attraction centres in the North West Province is at present, the most polluted dam in the province.
This is due to the pollution load moving from the Juskei River through the Crocodile River, mainly from
the Gauteng areas.

An extending fair of algae growth frequently occurred in the Hartebeespoort dam over the years and is still
continuing now at a higher rate because of the increasing water pollution. Eutrophication process is
responsible for the blue-green algae in the Hartebeespoort dam.

All the nutrients and chemicals from industrial waste, domestic waste, refuse dumps and agricultural
leached microelements end up in the dam. Microelements (nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus) and
chemicals run-off from land into the water adding nutrients to the water. Excess nutrients cause the dam to
be chocked with organic matter and organisms. The nutrients stimulate the algae to blossom all over
(anaerobically) using up all the oxygen in the water. When algae blossoms, on the water surface, the sun
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cannot penetrate the water and aerobic aquatic organism die as they cannot photosynthesise. Some aerobic
organisms attack the organic waste releasing gases such as methane and hydrogen sulphide which is
harmful the aerobic organisms.

When the organic matter exceeds the capacity of micro-organisms in water that break down and recycle the
organic matter, it encourages the rapid growth of algae. When the algae dies, its remains add up to the
organic waste already in the water and eventually the water becomes deficient in oxygen. Eutrophication
will eventually lead to the dearth of all forms of life in the Hartebeespoort dam.

Solutions for water pollution

• Dams used for water storage have to be built in higher altitude places and away from residential
areas. This will stop the run-off of leached waste water from industries, leached fertilizers from
farms and sewage water into the dams.
• Promote the use of natural, environmentally sensitive methods of pest control such as intercropping
and using natural predators and pests.
• A buffer strip of aquatic, nutrient loving plants should be planted around rivers, lakes, or dams used
to store water for important use. These plants will stop heavy sediments and absorb other nutrients
and minerals before they enter the water.
• Municipal refuse dumps should be placed away from water resources and placed at very dry places
where leaching of the wastes contaminants does not reach surface water or easily absorbed into the
soil reaching the groundwater.

In general, South Africa has a limited supply of water and the quality of this water is being threatened by
pollution. Water is in great demand, and as the human population grows with its increasing needs of
survival, the greater demand for water becomes. People in South Africa need have the utmost respect for
water and life, use water carefully, not waste it, and take action to solve any water problems.

The future

In order to respond to the continuing deterioration of water quality and to meet the challenges of the future,
the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has come up a Receiving Water Quality Objectives approach
consisting of a planned approach for non-hazardous substances and a pollution minimisation and
prevention approach for hazardous substances. In order to counter the limitations of this approach, a
precaution approach was accepted to prevent danger and minimise uncertainty and potential risk of
undesirable impacts on the environment.

Therefore, this clearly looks good for the future of South Africa in terms of water pollution conditions.
Decisions are also made concerning water quality management in terms of a hierarchy of principles, which
is specifically aimed at linking together the protection, use and development of water resources.

References
Cape Town Local Government Services (Solid Waste Management)
www.capetown.gov.za/en/pages/default.aspx

Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (What is meant by water quality)

http://www.dwaf.gov.za/Dir_WQM.wqm.htm

Rand Water (Water pollution and your health)

http://www.randwater.co.za/Education/Wi_Details.asp?ArticleId=138
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Wikipedia (Eutrophication)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eutrophication

Wasting Water (Squandering a precious resource)

Page 130 – 138. Henk Coetzee and David Cooper

Water (Water Pollution)

http://www.edugreen.teris.res.in/explore/water/pollu.htm