Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 02 May 2010

Water quality in sub-Saharan Africa is on the decline. Most water resources have unacceptable levels of toxic substances — heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants and biological contaminants, according to a recent report by the Pan Africa Chemistry Network (PACN).

About 50% of Africa’s total water resources are concentrated within the Congo basin

These originate mainly from domestic waste water and local industries.
However, PACN notes that managing water resources in Africa is difficult as many countries do not have quality monitoring programmes.

“There is widespread scarcity of analytical laboratories, substantial under-investment and the absence of a structured framework for water governance,” notes the PACN report. “This makes water pollution statistics hard to come by.”

The report, “Africa’s Water Quality: A chemical Science perspective” of March 2010, however notes that scientists working in Africa have the knowledge, expertise and potential to help formulate and implement sustainable water strategies to maintain quality.

The report is the outcome of a 2009 Sustainable Water Conference hosted by the University of Nairobi, Kenya, and sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and world leading agribusiness, Syngenta.

The findings and recommendations represent the views of 180 scientists and practitioners from 14 countries in Africa who attended the conference, as well as the UK, Switzerland, Colombia and Uruguay. Continue reading Most of Africa’s water sources are polluted with toxic matter