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Sewage Pollution Buccleuch

Irwin Juckes

27 October 2015

1. Summary

Buccleuch experiences chronic pollution in the Jukskei River – litter, sewage smell and polluted water. The problem comes from two sites in Alexandra where large storm water outfalls discharge litter and sewage. Sludge develops in the river downstream and settles in places causing smell. This investigation was done late dry season, and the sludge will be redistributed downstream when the urban floods resume.

2. Pollution profile of the upper Jukskei River

Three tests were used to profile the Jukskei River, two measuring pollution and one the health of the river.

VisualTracker is a structured observation of the condition of the water, recording colour, opacity, smell, foaming and overall appearance as a single index number

Turbidity is a measure the amount of suspended matter in the water Bio-assessment MiniSASS for the health of the river. Since river health

takes time to adjust is measured quarterly.

3. Jukskei Source to Kyalami Profile The pollution profile shows the water leaves Johannesburg highly polluted at Queen St, and the pollution declines quite rapidly to Civin Rd in St Andrews, Bedfordview. At Marlboro Bridge it is again as bad as it was leaving Johannesburg, and again declines steadily until in Kyalami. The river health is the inverse, improving from very poor at Queen Street to fair at Civin Rd, dropping at Marlboro to recover again as it flows through Buccleuch to Kyalami. The section from Lyndhurst to Marlboro was tested in October including three additional sites, showing the source of pollution affecting Buccleuch is between Alfred Nzo Rd and Lenin Rd.

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4. Sources of Pollution in Alexandra This section upstream from Lenin Road Bridge was viewed on foot and two major sources of pollution were found, marked on the map. As the river flowed from these two sources of sewage the water changed from grey to black and black sludge covered the banks and bed of the river. This sludge continues to be deposited at Marlboro and Buccleuch.

Figure 1: Map showing two sites of pollution in Alexandra

The first source was about 200m downstream from Alfred Nzo Road Bridge at the 20th Avenue footbridge. In the photo the grey sewage can be seen entering the clear water of the river.

Alfred Nzo Rd Bridge

Lenin Rd Bridge

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Figure 2: First site, downstream Alfred Nzo Bridge

The second site was downstream of John Brand Road Bridge, also a large storm water outfall with sewage and litter pouring out. At this site there were EPWP workers removing litter. The grey sewage can be seen entering the river already contaminated at the first site. As it flows downstream the water changes to black and sludge can be seen where it is trapped by vegetation of deeper slower water.

Figure 3: Second site, downstream John Brand Bridge

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Figure 4: Changing to black colour near Lenin Rd Bridge

5. Conclusion The smell in Buccleuch is mainly due to the accumulated sludge being broken down by microorganisms. There are two possible ways in which the situation can be improved. First if the sludge were allowed to settle higher upstream, for example by building a weir, the problem would remain upstream. It is unlikely this could be done as it just means the smell is in a different place. There are also environmental and regulatory obstacles to this. The problems in Alexandra are well known and there is a renewal plan for the area being implemented. The best option for Buccleuch may be to work within this and accelerate the improvements to waste water infrastructure and management in Alexandra.

6. Contact

Irwin Juckes Phone: +27 (11) 604 2493 Email: ijuckes@isbroadband.co.za Website: www.edenvaleriverwatch.co.za

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