Cholera detected in Vaal River, but experts back Rand Water to protect us

The test results are back and confirm that traces of cholera and E coli have been found in the Vaal River. 

AfriForum’s manager of environmental affairs Lambert de Klerk confirmed to TimesLIVE on Friday they have received the results.  

“It is confirmed both E coli and cholera have been found in the Vaal River,” De Klerk said.  

TimesLIVE has seen the final report. 

Experts believe Rand Water’s water purification system is good enough to protect users of potable water sourced from the Vaal River even though traces of E coli and cholera were found near Parys in the Free State. But they caution the state of our national waterways is deplorable and prosecutions must start to take place.  

According to Prof Craig Sheridan, the Claude Leon Foundation chair in water research and director of the Centre in Water Research and Development at the school of geography, archaeology and environmental studies at Wits University, Rand Water is standing solidly between water users and the threat detected in the Vaal River. 

“First, finding traces of E coli in the river is not an issue. You will find E coli in every animal’s gut. This means everything from birds to otters will have it. That means all rivers will have traces of E coli. That is why you don’t drink rainwater from your roof,” Sheridan told TimesLIVE on Friday. 

Finding cholera traces in one of South Africa’s most important rivers also did not surprise him. 

“They will find cholera because there is human fecal matter in the rivers. We know that. This is not news. We have been struggling with this issue for years. That is not the critical point,” Sheridan said.

“The big issue is the Hammanskraal outbreak proves it is in the potable water infrastructure and we don’t know yet where the contamination took place.

“This means there is contamination again after Rand Water has cleaned it. That is what we are struggling to find. Somewhere after Rand Water’s purification process there is recontamination with sewage. We know it isn’t before the water reaches Rand Water and not in their plant because if it was we would have the entire Johannesburg very sick.”

Dr Ferrial Adam is executive manager of WaterCAN, an Outa initiative, and she agrees with Sheridan about Rand Water’s capabilities. 

“Most of the potable water sourced from the Vaal River moves through Rand Water. They do not only supply Gauteng but also North West, Mpumalanga and parts of Free State. In total about 17-million South Africans use water cleaned by Rand Water,” Adam said on Friday. 

In spite of her faith in Rand Water, Adam is worried. 

“If you look at last year’s 'Green Drop' report, an audit of all the wastewater facilities in South Africa, we are in deep trouble. Out of more than 900 wastewater plants, only 23 received Green Drop status. More than 60% of plants were declared a critical risk.” 

This has a ripple effect, Adam said. 

“If our wastewater plants are not cleaning the water to standard, we must conclude most of our rivers are polluted. We are sitting on a powder keg.” 

Not all South Africans have access to purified water. “An estimated 9% of South Africa’s citizens depend on rivers and streams for drinking water,” Adam said. 

Finding traces of cholera in the Vaal “was bound to happen”, she said.  

“Even though Rand Water is doing a great job, the more polluted our rivers become, the more expensive purification becomes. That passes the expense on to the end user, the public.” 

Nobody knows yet what or where the source of the Hammanskraal cholera outbreak is. “We did our own tests in Hammanskraal and are expecting the results between later today (Friday) and Monday,” Adam said.  

Dirty water is not a uniquely South African issue. “Every year between 800,000 and 900,000 people get sick across the world from drinking dirty water,” she added. 

AfriForum’s De Klerk cautioned that Rand Water is not the only entity cleaning and supplying Vaal River water to South Africans. 

“Parys does not get water from Rand Water, while other towns like Heilbron do,” De Klerk said.  

Wits University water expert Prof Anthony Turton, commenting on the AfriForum report, suspects cholera will already have reached much of the country. 

“If the tests were done by an accredited lab using standard operational procedures, then it means cholera is in more than one place in the country at present,” Turton said on Friday.

He urged water users to be careful. 

“The precautionary principle tells us that in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we must err on the side of caution and act as if all raw water is potentially contaminated. This is the prudent approach internationally accepted.” 

If people get sick, they must get medical help immediately, he said. 

“Practise good hygiene and store water only in clean containers. If one becomes ill, report immediately to a healthcare professional.”

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