By Steve Kretzmann. Article originally published in GroundUp 23nd June 2023.
ALL four towns that have recorded cholera deaths this year have failing drinking water supply and failing sewage treatment plants
- At least 32 people have died of cholera – a preventable and treatable disease – this year.
- The water in more than half the water supply systems examined for the Department of Water and Sanitation’s latest Blue Drop Watch Report is unfit to drink.
- While water in the taps is dirty or simply not available, sewage runs in the streets of towns where cholera has led to death.
- A group of senior scientists warn of a national health and environmental emergency.
In Hammanskraal the cholera epidemic has claimed the lives of 29 people, according to health department spokesperson Foster Mohale. The Free State towns of Parys and Kroonstad, and Phake in Mpumalanga have each reported one death attributed to cholera. These are likely underestimates of the actual cholera deaths.
The water supply systems in Hammanskraal, Parys and Phake are among the failing systems inspected by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) for its Blue Drop Watch Report released on 6 June. The drinking water in these towns is contaminated by faecal bacteria such as E.coli.
The bacterium which causes cholera, Vibrio cholerae, is also transmitted by faecal contamination of water and food.
The Blue Drop Watch Report provides a technical overview of the country’s drinking water supply, ahead of the full Blue Drop Report 2023 expected to be published in July. Of the 1 186 water supply systems in South Africa, the watch report assessed 151. Of these 77 are failing, including those supplying drinking water to Hammanskraal, Parys and Phake. The Kroonstad water supply system is not included in the report, but information on the DWS Integrated Regulatory Information System (IRIS) which is used as a database informing the Blue Drop Report, shows the Kroonstad system is also failing.
Scientists warn of looming health emergency
The cholera deaths in Gauteng, Free State and Mpumalanga are symptomatic of a widespread collapse of water and sanitation infrastructure. Immediate action needs to be taken by authorities. This is the warning from a group of 15 senior academic experts forming South Africa’s Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE).
On 6 June, the same day DWS released the Blue Drop Watch Report, SAGE released its Strategic Advisory on Wastewater Management in South Africa. In it the scientists state that if left unchecked, the “unfolding collapse” of water treatment works countrywide “could precipitate multiple concurrent health and environmental emergencies”.
Article abridged due to space constraints. To read the full content visit: https://www.groundup.org.za/article/failed-water-supply-sewage-pollution-align-with-cholera-deaths/
