After multiple requests made by residents for the release of the water test results of the Seekoei Estuary, the Kouga Municipality has released the results for July and August which show a great improvement in the water quality.
As previously reported, that after denying allegations of sewage entering the Seekoei Estuary for many years, in a surprise turn of events in July the municipality released a statement informing residents that it was closing the Seekoei Estuary for swimming and fishing until further notice.
At the time, Kouga executive mayor, Hattingh Bornman, said that the Seekoei Estuary had not functioned naturally for a while, due to anthropogenic (human) activities that have led to the alteration of the natural ecological function of the estuary.
Speaking on the latest test results for the Estuary, which were released by the municipality on August 24, Bornman said that most of the results of water samples taken at various points along the Estuary in August this year were within the required water quality standards of South Africa.
“The improvement in water quality can mainly be attributed to the good rains experienced recently,” said Bornman.
He said that the municipality has, furthermore, identified specific areas where raw sewage was overflowing from private properties into the estuary.
Bornman said that notices will be sent out to the respective owners and the necessary steps will be taken to effectively deal with the situation.
“More investigations at private properties along the estuary will be conducted to ensure all spillage points are identified and dealt with,” said Bornman.
He said that the water quality of the estuary remains a high priority, and the municipality will continue to monitor the quality of the water to ensure that the results adhere to the required water quality standards of South Africa.
“The municipality is determined to rectify all problems in this regard before the start of the holiday season in December this year,” said Bornman.
“We will continue to communicate water test results and information on relevant matters that need to be addressed to residents.”
Despite the improvement in water quality within the Estuary, Bornman said that the Estuary will remain closed for now.
Water results released by the municipality indicate e.coli and enterococci levels per 100ml for Paradise Beach Middle, Paradise Beach Braai Area, Seekoei Estuary Mouth, Aston Bay Swan Drive, Causeway and Old Penguin Sanctuary.
When water samples were tested in July, at least five of the areas ranged from good to excellent with low e.coli levels, while Aston Bay Swan Drive’s levels were poor, measuring at 1 300 per 100ml.
With Aston Bay Swan Drive’s e.coli levels decreasing to 28 per 100ml in August, all six areas tested were excellent with low e.coli levels.
Furthermore, when water samples were tested for enterococci in July, five of the six areas tested indicated poor with high levels of enterococci with the Seekoei Estuary Mouth being the exception as tests revealed that the water was excellent with 90 per 100ml measured.
Finally, the enterococci test results for August revealed that at least five of the areas tested had improved and were excellent while the Old Penguin Sanctuary improved slightly but was still considered poor as it measured at 120 per 100ml.
Despite the release of water test results for the Estuary for July and August, community leader and founding director of non-profit organisation, Masikhathalelaneni, Freddie van Rooyen said that it is important for the municipality to release historical test results as well, which would allow the public to better understand what contributed to the current state of the Estuary.
He said that the results released by the municipality on August 24, are questionable as the municipality has not released previous results, especially the results from December 2022 when the Estuary was in a bad state despite remaining open for swimming and recreational fishing.
“The inconsistency that the municipality has shown by releasing water results for specific periods has broken the trust of the residents. We are only able to measure the truth if we can see the previous water results,” said van Rooyen.
He further said that without the previous test results, they have nothing to compare the current test results to.
“It is correct that the municipality has released the test results, but they have to be transparent so that they can begin to build trust with the residents,” said van Rooyen.
In addition to transparency regarding the Estuary, he said that it was also important for the municipality to remain consistent with the information they shared about the Jeffreys Bay and Humansdorp Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW), especially since the Humansdorp WWTW have allegedly not been operating since 2016.
In a previous statement, Bornman said that the Jeffreys Bay and Humansdorp WWTW were not functioning optimally.
To ensure that the Jeffreys Bay WWTW is operational 24/7 despite load shedding and that the inflow into the estuary is within required standards when there is no load shedding, he said that a 480KW generator has been secured and will be installed by September 31.
“Major improvements in water test results were recorded from the water outflow at the Jeffreys Bay WWTW – with water tests coming back 100 percent clean,” said Bornman.
He further said that the municipality is also planning to revamp the Humansdorp WWTW and that they are in the process of finalising the contractual agreements for work to commence in September.
He said that a contractor will also be appointed soon for the removal of a section of the car park close to the mouth of the estuary.
“Consultants will be appointed in September for the review of the Estuary Management Plan (EMP). One of the first steps of the review will be to elect a new committee,” said Bornman.
He said that more information on the EMP would be communicated.
