In the kak . . . and passing the buck!

* Overstrand Ward 11

Overstrand municipality gets pedantic over pollution

and continues to drag its feet.

TEST RESULTS

NOW CHECK FOR YOURSELF THE HEALTH RISK

AND SUITABILITY FOR RECREATIONAL USE

* You dont need to be a Rocket Scientist to see that the Stanford slipway has exceeded the 'minumum requirement' (and 'unexceptable') category for Enterococci and E. coli by over 400% and 100% respectively and there are no health safety warning signs anywhere to be found on the river in Stanford.

For further test results which are well hidden for some reason (we call it OBSCURANTISM)

go to the 'funded' site www.overstrandestuaries.co.za

Here’s how to get there. Once on the Home Page

of the Overstand Estuary site

1. Then Click on Klein

2. Then Click on Data

3. Then Click on Water Quality

4. Scroll down

VOILA!

You wont find salient tags and navigation on this site - like POLLUTION / SEWERAGE MANAGEMENT / BUILDING APPLICATIONS / SET BACK POLICY

This would be far too provocative (and revealing)

Correspondence from Bea Whittaker of Stanford

Unfortunately the latest results on the website for the discharge from the sewerage works stops in Nov 2010, so it one cannot determine whether the problem lies there. Maybe we can get this info and see if it correlates with the alarming Jan and Feb 2011 increase in counts at the slipway - which may be indicative of a problem at the sewerage works.

If this does not correlate, it means that there must be a problem in and/or around the Mill Stream, as the difference between King Street and the slipway is just too high for about 300m difference in river distance. The only way we can then determine the cause of the problem is to take water samples somewhere along the Mill stream - most probably (1) at Queen Victoria Street, downstream of where the leiwater enters the stream and (2) somewhere along Vlei Street, upstream of the leiwater). This must be done in addition to the sampling of the return flow being discharged at the sewerage works itself. This will then be able to tell us if there are maybe are point sources of pollution other than the sewerage works.

The question also arises whether the monthly BOCMA results are used by the municipality as a red flag to immediately check for a problem at the sewerage works. Maybe this could be answered at the next Ward Committee meeting?

Regards

Bea

THANKS BEA, VERY SOBER COMMENT!