KNYSNA NEWS - Following residents complaints of pollution of the lagoon last week (Refer to Knysna-Plett Herald of May 17 - Residents Fed-Up with Pollution), Knysna Municipal Manager Lauren Waring responded to the various allegations.
Following a May 16 meeting with Eden District Municipality representatives, SANParks and specialist, Professor Brian Allanson, Waring guaranteed that no raw sewerage is being discharged into the estuary, either from the Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) or by any other means, such as a 'honey-sucker' as claimed by concerned residents.
On Monday, May 14 Dylan Handel reported that he had witnessed a municipal employee retrieving tampons, sanitary towels and other solid waste from the George Rex culvert at about 07:00 that morning. "While we stand by our statement that the presence of toilet paper, condoms, sanitary pads and the like are due to the littering of residents, we are instituting measures within the WWTW to ensure that no other similar materials escape the system," explained Waring. She continued, "As is public knowledge, we are in the process of extensively upgrading the Wastewater Treatment Works.
Re-engineering and replacing some of the filtration screens form part of the upgrade, which will further mitigate this problem in the future."
As was reported, SANParks area manager, André Riley, Allanson and eight SANParks rangers, had visited the salt marshes following residents' queries and complaints."Riley confirmed that no traces of solid sewerage, toilet paper or any other untoward organism mortalities (including pipefish) could be found," said Waring.
Allanson confirmed last week that what were thought to be deposits of dried toilet paper were in fact the cellulose skeletons of green macroalgae (Ulva).
"I can guarantee residents that we do not, under any circumstances, use sewerage trucks (or 'honey-suckers') to pump sewerage into the estuary."
Respending to a photograph depicting toilet paper alongside George Rex Drive, in the vicinity where the honey-sucker had been seen by a resident, Waring said: "As to the photograph taken of actual toilet paper - there is no possible way that toilet paper that had entered the system and supposedly been discharged, would still be recognisable as such.
"I invite you to drop some toilet paper into a tub of water - even if left undisturbed, within a matter of minutes that toilet paper would have disintegrated considerably. Now imagine what toilet paper would look like if it had travelled through the entire system of the WWTW and somehow had been discharged. While I cannot argue that the photo under discussion is that of toilet paper, I can guarantee you that it had not been discharged from either the WWTW or the 'honey-sucker'."
Residents were also complained that the lagoon bacterial load displayed on the municipality's website had not been updated since March. "With regards the publishing of bacterial load readings taken of the estuary by Eden District Municipality, our website clearly states the following: 'Eden District Municipality Department: Municipal Health will conduct sampling and analysis of the Knysna estuary on a monthly basis. The results of these tests will be uploaded to our website as they are made available'." Waring further explained that the results were loaded onto the site on March 12.
"These were not updated in April, as Eden District Municipality Department: Municipal Health had not taken any readings for sampling."
Waring added that readings have been taken for the month of May and gave the assurance that these readings would be uploaded to the site as soon as they became available.
The minutes of a recent internal estuary pollution task force meeting had been requested from the municipality, but not received.
Waring said, "The internal estuary pollution task force reports to the relevant Section 80 committee meeting, which is open to the public, and submits a monthly report to the council meetings, which are also public meetings. We encourage any and all interested parties to attend these meetings, or the public Water Forum meetings."
In conclusion Waring confirmed that Handel had called the mayor's office on the morning of Monday, May 14 after witnessing solid waste being retrieved. "I immediately went to personally investigate the situation and, while I found many samples of the dried microalgae, I could find no signs of raw sewerage or dead pipefish. I called Mr Handel and offered to meet with him, to take him onto the WWTW site, to invite him to the next Water Forum meeting and to put him in touch with the Department of Water Affairs."
ARTICLE: FRAN KIRSTEN, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD JOURNALIST
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