A SLOWONSET DISASTER: Effects of failed sanitation on rivers

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A SLOW-ONSET DISASTEREffects of failed
sanitation on rivers
Jo Barnes Faculty of Medical Sciences University
of Stellenbosch Tygerberg
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Pollution due to failing sanitation

• "If our foresight were as good as our hindsight,
  we'd be a damn sight better off..."
• Robert J Burdette

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Examples of slow-onset disasters

• Drought
• Famine (often associated with drought)
• Desertification
• Pollution of environment or natural resources
• Deforestation
• Coastal erosion
• Slow epidemics (e.g. HIV/AIDS)

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Population and water resources - a delicate
balance

• Most poor countries located in regions with the
  most droughts and variation in rainfall
• These countries also face rapid population growth
• Most of Africa subsist on the hydrological edge
• Poor progress in water resource management,
  sanitation and hygiene causes a slow disaster
• Deteriorating water quality
• Water crisis

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Most recent E. coli counts in Plankenbrug (Note
Contact should be avoided at gt2000 E. coli per 10
ml water)
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Recent E. coli counts in Berg River (Note
Contact should be avoided at gt2000 E. coli per
100 ml water)
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Recent E. coli counts from DWAF (Note Contact
should be avoided at gt2000 E. coli per 100 ml
water)
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ORGANISMS IDENTIFIED FROM PLANKENBRUG 11-2-2002
Beta hemolytic streptococcus Group A (sepsis,
respiratory infections, kidney disease) Alpha
hemolytic streptococci Enterococcus faecalis
(resistant to antibiotics) Staphylococcus spp.
amongst which S. aureus, S. epidermidis
(septicaemia, pneumonia, skin and wound
infections. S. enterocolitis high fatality
rate) Klebsiella, amongst which K. pneumoniae. K.
ozaenae (pneumonia) Escherichia coli (at least 4
'variants') (diarrhoea, urinary tract,
HUS) Acinetobacter spp. (usually resistant
against most antibiotics) Pseudomonas spp.
amongst which P. aeruginosa (grows in
detergents, resistant to disinfectants, sepsis,
wound infections, eye infections) Proteus
mirabilis, P. vulgaris (diarrhoea, especially in
children) PREDICTION Vibrio cholerae and
Salmonella typhi only a matter of time!
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Failures of design and usage
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40 - 60 persons per toilet
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Animal and human feet bring contamination into
homes
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Overflowing sewers contaminate the streets
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Poor solid waste removal causes contamination
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Alien vegetation slows flow and allows
sedimentation

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Coal depot on the banks of the Berg River
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Costs of diarrhoea in dense settlement - 2001

• Direct costs
• Hospital R614 237 (19)
• Clinic R190 687 (6)
• Indirect costs
• Lost income R1 977 987 (63)
• Self-treatment R368 614 (12)
• TOTAL COSTS R3 151 544
• 7 financed by local government
• 32 by provincial government
• 61 by population in settlement

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Problems facing the community

• Who is the community?
• What about minority groups? They fear losing
  what little they have.
• Minorities in any settlement are the very people
  most needing sanitation. Majority resents this.
• What if the community's wants are not feasible?
• Nature of impoverished society - poor concept of
  the future (May use the words, but have no
  bearing on their actions)
• "Pollution is our privilege until 'they' improve
  our services"

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The Community Leaders

• Expected to effect change in community
• Face severe limitations - conflicting agendas
• Sometimes lack education or management skills
• As soon as they put pressure on community to
  change, they may lose their power base
• Not all leaders have altruistic motives - they
  learn to play 'clever taxis'

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The Local Authority (1)

• Wields a lot of power - budgets, decision-making
• Sometimes makes unilateral decisions - results
  in lack of co-operation, vandalism, etc
• Funding decisions mainly political -
  horse-trading between officials and politicians
• Officials can find themselves isolated, while
  being blamed for project failures

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The Local Authority (2)

• Not all officials see themselves as responsible
  for image of municipality
• Projects have deliverables, tight time schedules,
  heavy emphasis on 'hardware' such as pipes and
  structures
• 'Hardware' not acceptable to community is doomed
  to predictable problems
• Overlooked Officials need training in dealing
  with impoverished, fractured communities

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The 'Government'

• Health services failing to engage in sanitation
  problems in most towns
• DWAF 'We have the best water laws in the world'
• DWAF Lack of enforcement of laws
• Government bodies not user-friendly to get help
  from
• Funding fragmented and policies restrict the kind
  of project funded without taking local conditions
  into account

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Levels of Environmental Governance

• Level 0 "Forgetaboutit"
• Level 1 Passive (Aim compliance)
• Rudimentary system, information carefully
  controlled, management may not be informed
• Level 2 Active (Aim risk reduction)
• Level 1 evaluate the management systems,
  policies, audit also embedded in financial
  systems
• Level 3 Aggressive (Aim strategic future
  positioning)
• Top class Level 2 accountability all the way
  up the line, reward systems

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• "In nature there are neither rewards nor
  punishments - there are consequences."
  R J Ingersoll

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Acknowledgements
Henk Langenhoven and SAFCEC for the
invitation Flemish Government, Danish
Government, SA Water Research Commission, Harry
and Doris Crossley Foundation for financial
assistance University of Stellenbosch for
ethical clearance, research assistance and
permission to publish People of Kayamandi for
their co-operation The guards from the
University Security Services for personal safety
during sampling