The Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology (IWWT) at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) have been testing the tap water in parts of the eThekwini region following reports of high e.coli being found in and around Durban.
The director of the IWWT, Professor Faizal Bux, confirmed that scientists at DUT have analysed the drinking water and the results look good. “Recently there has been much concern about Durban’s tap water quality. We have conducted microbiological testing on random samples from the greater Durban area, including the south, north and west and the tap water satisfies the South African National Standard’s (SANS) 241 microbiological drinking water standards,” said Bux.
However, the public should be aware of announcements from the municipality in the event of any changes in the water quality in specific areas in the future. Bux said SANS 241 is the limits and associated risks for domestic water as determined by the South African National Standard where parameters falling outside these limits may cause acute or chronic health problems in individuals.
He also said that the IWWT are continuing to test samples of wastewater, from sewage plants in eThekwini, to monitor the levels of SARS-CoV-2. This provides a good indication of the levels of Covid-19 infection in the community. Prof Bux said his team uses the latest molecular techniques to test for SARS-CoV-2 and shares results with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) as part of a national monitoring system. The approach is used in many parts of the world to monitor community level Covid-19 outbreaks and serves as an early warning system.
However, closure of beaches in and around Durban are cause for serious concern. This was largely caused by pollution emanating from faecal sources due to poorly treated wastewater discharged from wastewater treatment plants and spills from dis-functional sewer pump stations. This was evident at the Umgeni river mouth where dead fish were seen on the banks of the river. “Water test showed extremely low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water that could have caused the fish kill. Low oxygen levels are a reflection of poor water quality attributed to high amounts of undesirable organic material in the environment. This has serious negative impacts on aquatic life,” said Bux. He stressed that hopefully the responsible authorities can address this matter with the urgency it requires.
