Editorial: Rivers: metro must take responsibility

THE toxic state of the Bay’s rivers, as highlighted in a front page report in The Herald yesterday, has long been a cause for concern. And it is not getting better. According to the municipality’s newest water quality test results, based on samples taken between October and December last year, the Swartkops, Chatty and Baakens rivers have become massive cesspools of waste in which sky-high levels of E coli bacteria are present. To put it into perspective: an E coli count of less than 130 per 100ml of water is considered safe, but the Swartkops River’s count of this harmful bacteria, that can cause severe diarrhoea and other health complications, has been measured at a frightening 198 600. One Baakens River sample revealed a count of 1 080 and the Chatty River’s count was measured at 990. These are dangerously high levels that pose a significant health risk to those living around and/or making recreational use of these rivers.

At the centre of the problem is the city’s deteriorating infrastructure that frequently allows raw sewage to flow into our waterways unchecked. The canals in Motherwell in particular are so overburdened that breaches are a frequent occurrence, causing the Swartkops River to become a dangerous, putrid mess. The municipality has a Catch 22 situation on its hands: ageing, ailing infrastructure and a shortage of funds to address this are problems that are not going to go away. But then there are all the other pressing issues that need attention – and money: electricity, access to clean running water, flush toilets . . . One does have the sense that environmental issues are not very high up on the list and that, increasingly, the public and volunteers are having to step up to be the watchdogs. Many are doing so, but they cannot do it alone. More responsibility must be taken by the municipality, even if it means urgently motivating for the government or perhaps Development Bank funding to help stem the rot. Stricter policing of illegal dumping must also be put in place and transgressors punished.