Levels of a toxin “chemically similar to cobra venom” detected in a number of major SA dams are “amongst the highest ever measured in the world”. That’s the claim of water expert Dr Anthony Turton in an article published on Tuesday in the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) @Liberty policy bulletin.Exacerbating the matter‚ said Turton‚ is that it is not known if either of “two known technologies capable of neutralising microcystin” can do so “at the concentrations found in South Africa”. He explained that sewage discharges cause the “eutrophication of most major dams”‚ causing “the presence of high levels of nutrients‚ which in turn promote the growth of cyanobacteria”.Microcystin is a common species of cyanobacteria‚ which is said to be “carcinogenic and damages the liver and central nervous system”.“Microcystin toxin levels become a concern in developed countries at far below the levels commonly found in South Africa‚” wrote Turton.“There are only two known technologies capable of neutralising microcystin‚ and neither is in mainstream use in any of the country’s bulk potable water treatment plants.”Turton accused the government of “under-reporting the extent of eutrophication”. While “official reports suggest that only 5% of the national water resource is at risk…a recent study by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has found that at least two thirds of South Africa’s largest dams are already eutrophic.”Turton appeared to attribute “this looming disaster” to a “rigid concept of transformation” being allowed “to trump the imperative to safeguard public health”.Turton said SA’s water shortage is not simply the result of the current drought‚ but “is also an ‘induced’ one” stemming from “a lack of strategic planning‚ a loss of skills to ‘transformation’‚ and the fact that poorly functioning wastewater treatment plants are spewing close on 4 billion litres of untreated or partially treated sewage into the country’s dams and rivers every day”...