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Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 15 September 2010 In a written reply to parliamentary questions, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said revealing such information could lead to “serious misinterpretation” of the data. Not all waste-water treatment works meet the [...] Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 07 May 2010 South Africa faces a far more disruptive threat than Eskom power failures, one that is potentially calamitous and may even be seen by religiously-minded citizens as the coming of the biblically predicted apocalypse. It will be characterised by the failure of wastewater purification systems, the pollution of rivers and dams and even the poisoning of waters in reservoirs or dams serving as reservoirs if the purification process is inadequate at that level. The first signs of the disaster are already visible in remote rural areas where the municipalities – which are responsible for wastewater purification – are too poor to attract appropriately qualified personnel to operate purification systems and ensure that they are properly maintained. Though water and environment affairs minister Buyelwa Sonjica denies that there is a water crisis at present, she implicitly admits that one is inevitable unless strenuous action is taken to prevent it when she warns that South Africa will have to spend R23-billion to prevent the collapse of the wastewater treatment system. An excellent synopsis of the main dimensions of the impending crisis if appropriate and urgent measures are not taken is contained in a publication by the Centre for Development and Enterprise and Business Leadership SA. The publication summarised the contents of a round table discussion by representatives of government, business and academia on the genesis of the problem and the threatened crisis. The scene-setting introduction makes two broad points: Continue reading SA’s water: A looming apocalypse? Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 30 April 2010
The Department of Water Affairs finds that 7,4% of all wastewater systems can be classified as excellently managed, but the reality remains that various levels of improvement are required in about 55% of the systems assessed.
Water Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica has asked the Treasury for a staggering R23 billion over the next six years to fix waste water treatment works that need “urgent” attention.  Photo by 'hilmy2007' under creative commons licence. Sonjica said yesterday the bill for refurbishing the plants could rise even higher, as the figure was an estimate. She said that while there was reason for concern at the parlous state of the country’s sewage treatment works, “we have not reached crisis levels”. She briefed journalists at the Union Buildings at the release of the much-delayed Green Drop report, an assessment of how sewage treatment works are performing. Water experts have expressed concern over deteriorating conditions at the plants, which treat just under 7 600 megalitres of waste water every day. Poorly treated waste water pollutes land and rivers, posing problems for farmers, damage to eco- systems and health risks. Only 449 of the country’s 850 waste-water treatment works were assessed, with the rest either ignoring, or being unable to comply with the call to submit to scrutiny. Continue reading Only 7% comply with Green Drop Report criteria Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 16 April 2010 “Your department has let South Africa down, and seriously so,” Democratic Alliance MP Annette Lovemore told Water Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica. Lovemore, speaking during debate on the water affairs budget vote in the National Assembly, called on the minister to show “vital, critical and urgent leadership to address the current shocking level of mismanagement of our water resources”.  Excessive concentrations of nutrients stimulates algal growth resulting in the decrease of water quality and the emergence of harmful algal blooms. Ground and surface water quality in South Africa was deteriorating fast, and people had died after drinking polluted water, she said. “Animals in the Kruger National Park and ecosystems across the country are under threat. Tourism is compromised by the eutrophication of rivers and dams. Water treatment costs are escalating due to poor raw water quality. “Farmers are unable to irrigate with polluted river water. The availability of water to sustain economic development and human and environmental health is diminishing. Opportunities are being seriously undermined,” Lovemore said. United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa told MPs they were sitting on a time bomb. Continue reading Water quality deteriorating fast warns MP Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 03 March 2010 Amid growing concerns about the state of sewage treatment plants around the country, the department of water affairs is absent from government’s infrastructure development cluster media briefing. Buyelwa Sonjica “Water Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica [...] |
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