The impact of inadequate wastewater treatment on the receiving water bodies – Case study: Buffalo City and Nkokonbe Municipalities of the Eastern Cape Province

Abstract

The performance of four wastewater treatment plants that serve the Buffalo City (Dimbaza, East London) and Nkokonbe (Alice, Fort Beaufort) Municipal areas in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa was investigated for the removal of microbial and chemical contaminants. Statistical evidence showed a relationship between the quality of the final effluent and that of the receiving water body and the relationship was such that the better the quality of the final effluent, the better the quality of the receiving water body. The quality of both the effluents and the receiving water bodies was acceptable with respect to the temperature (mean range: 16.52 to 23.33°C), pH (mean range: 7.79 to 8.97), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (mean range: 7 to 20 mg/ℓ) and total suspended solids (TSS) (mean range: 161.43 to 215.67 mg/ℓ). However, in terms of the nutrients (orthophosphate - mean range: 3.70 to 11.58 mg/ℓ and total nitrogen - mean range: 2.90 to 6.90 mg/ℓ) the effluents and the receiving water bodies were eutrophic.

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