What the future holds
There has been a significant surge in the
knowledge base around wetlands, Fairall
says. “Twenty years ago, we had about 30
people that were interested in restoring
wetlands, in the impacts on wetlands,
Water Sewage & Effluent September/October 2017
17
While raw sewage can be life-threatening
when found in fresh water, the process can
be reversed — albeit a time-consuming
process. Fairall cites the River Thames
in London, now a waterway that
is home to all manner of small
wildlife. According to the
London Wildlife Trust, there
are 125 types of fish in
the Tidal Thames (from
the estuary mouth
to Teddington Lock).
Fairall adds that
salmon now also
swim upstream to
spawn.
This is vastly
different to the
Thames circa 1965,
when he visited
London, Fairall says:
“The River Thames
Paul Fairall, principal consultant for Emifula and wetlands guru.
Time is not on our side
was a stream of sewage, as were the
River Rhine and the Ruhr. Governments
have since realised their terrible mistake
and turned these water courses around,”
he adds. But this did take 50-odd years to
achieve, he points out.
He describes how, back in the day,
about 70 years ago, Singapore was known
as one of