Water, Sewage & Effluent November-December 2017 | Page 42

municipalities
www . groundup . org . za
Settlements along rivers unintentionally pollute their water source .
He explains : “ As brake pads wear away , they create fine copper dust . This then settles on the road surfaces and when it rains , it is mobilised and washed into rivers . There was an initiative in California , in the San Francisco estuary , ( a back-of-theenvelope level of science initially ) where it was estimated that half the copper measured in solution could be attributed to or explained by , wear and tear from brake-pads ,” he shares . “ It ’ s the science of unintended consequences ,” he adds with a grin .
So what to do about it
According to D ’ Arcy , the US is the first country to systematically recognise that diffuse pollution is an issue . He continues : “ Think the Dustbowl in the 1930s and soil erosion . When you convert land from natural to intensive usage – however that happens , whether it ’ s towns or cities , livestock farming or forestry – when there is land conversion , that is the first big hit the environment gets . You then
have to mitigate the consequences with a whole suite of techniques .” D ’ Arcy says that included in these techniques are physical solutions , like creating a buffer zone , where the intensive activity is moved back , away from the water edge , even though it is along the river ’ s edge that settlements develop .
“ Hedgerows are also a way to prevent garbage being dumped in rivers , serving as a buffer zone against sewage-rich run-off , car maintenance , and other activities within a settlement that generate pollution . It also looks nice , creating a sense of pride , where people are less likely to ‘ abuse ’ their own environment by dumping garbage on their side of the hedgerow ,” D ’ Arcy adds .
The increasing world population however , threatens even more challenges for managing diffuse pollution , and requires urgent public awareness around this invisible threat . u
Brian D ’ Arcy is an independent environmental consultant .
Sources : Diffuse water pollution : an invisible and growing threat – http :// oecdinsights . org / 2017 / 03 / 22 / diffuse-waterpollution-growing-threat
Diffuse sources – https :// www . eea . europa . eu / themes / water / water-pollution / diffuse-sources
Nonpoint source pollution – http :// www . pollutionissues . com / Na-Ph / Nonpoint- Source-Pollution . html
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40 Water Sewage & Effluent November / December 2017