Grey water is defined as water from baths, showers, hand basins and clothes washing machines or the laundry.  Any water from any other source   ( toilet water,  kitchen and bidet’s) is considered black water, and must be allowed to proceed to the sewer, and be treated by some sort of sewerage treatment works.

Grey water is the biggest contributor to wastage of water and though knowledge of this very useful source is growing generally this knowledge is still woeful. In this form at best 33% of water consumed in the home is normally thrown away, and at worst is perhaps 50%.  It is preposterous that any municipality allows this precious source of good water to be thrown away.  Grey water is very useful for two purposes, re-used for toilet flushing or for irrigation purposes.

There are several rules for the re-use of grey water and the four most important are:

1. Thou shalt not store grey water:  This is the first law and may not be changed: the problem is that grey water has temperature and food value for anaerobic bacteria to breed and produce methane and hydrogen sulphide, the stuff that smells so badly.  Any talk of a “tank” into which grey water is fed and used for any purpose whatsoever is simply not possible. Any “tank” will build up sludge, and this is quite unacceptable.
2. Do not let grey water pool:  sending water to flood irrigate gardens on a regular basis means that a bacteria will clog the soil, preventing penetration of water into the soil, that needs to be overcome by some sort of cultivation Read the full story

Sewage as well as animal blood and offcuts are apparently being dumped into the Vaal River, The Weekender reported on Saturday.

An abbatoir in Frankfort was pumping animal blood and offcuts into its evaporation dam which was in turn seeping into the Vaal River, Freedom Front Plus Mafube municipality councillor Peter van der Westhuizen said.

“We saw a large area of red in the water.

“We are conducting tests to establish exactly what is causing it”.

A member of the Blue Scorpions Nigel Adams confirmed the dumping of the animal offcuts, saying it had first been noticed during an aerial survey.

Van der Westhuizen also said court orders since 2004 had not managed to get the municipality to repair broken pipes and water purification works which were allegedly causing sewage to ooze over the ground that leads into the Vaal River.

Water scientist and activist Professor Anthony Turton said sewage, in particular, was causing a build-up of blue-green algae containing microcystims which are deadly. Read the full story

Melanie Gosling, Cape Times June 17th

Western Cape municipalities need to spend R6.6bn to replace decaying water and sanitation infrastructure in local authorities throughout the province.

This was one of the findings of an audit commissioned by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, which said it would take a massive R56bn to fix the crumbling water and sanitation infrastructure throughout the country. The Western Cape municipalities whose water and sanitation infrastructure are in the worst condition are Knysna, Drakenstein, Stellenbosch and Breede Valley.

The report which described the need for upgrading both water and sanitation infrastructure as “urgent” said in some regions the infrastructure was so dilapidated that raw sewage was discharged into rivers and on to streets, creating both a serious human health hazard and a threat to the natural environment. “Because of this situation, the quality of drinking water could, in some instances, lead to deaths” the report said.

Western Cape municipalities would have to spend R3.7bn on replacing infrastructure for water provision and R2.8bn on sanitation infrastructure. Read the full story