Water Wheel Jan/Feb 2026: Emerging Contaminants

Abstract

Whether we thank them or blame them, it is reasonable to say that the Romans probably invented waterborne sewers and that the Victorians perfected them. Their legacy means that our sewage is flushed away, and we no longer need to think about it. However, we should be thinking about it, because through the city sewerage systems (the piping and reticulation systems that take the sewage away), millions of litres of wastewater are concentrated at single points within catchments across South Africa. Even if this wastewater has been treated to meet compliance standards, which, according to the latest Green Drop report, only equates to 36% of wastewater treatment works (WWTWs), this does not automatically mean that the water discharged back into rivers is ‘clean’ .

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