Tag Archives: pollution

SANParks Scarily Discusses Knysna Fire’s Environmental Impact

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Knysna’s tourist-based economy is, in turn, an environmentally-based economy. The environmental impact of the Great Knysna Fire on our natural wonders is going to impact our income. Revitalising nature is thus priority but there are many challenges ahead, maybe scarier than most people realise. THE FIRE’S ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT In this video, SANParks’ Manager Planning Len Du Plessis discusses the impact the raging fire had on the environment. He says that there was super heat, at times over 2000 degrees, incinerating brick. Soil structure has been destabilised, the fire so intense that it’s become powder in some places. Soil erosion is … ‘Click here to read full article…’

Western Cape’s Sewerage Going Into the Sea

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Knysna has an ongoing problem with it’s sewerage plant, what is more kindly referred to as a Waster Water Treatment Plant. Compounding the problem is pollution traveling from mostly poor communities via river into its most prized environmental resource, the Knysna Estuary. The town has become reliant on tidal flow to wash effluence away. Considering the hills surrounding the estuary, it could be said that Knysna Central is the toilet bowl of the Garden Route. When it’s flushed, it’s contents are eventually going to land up in the sea. The problem is that waterways are not sealed pipes so skid-marks … ‘Click here to read full article…’

Salt River Clean-Up: Bottles, Mud & Happy Sun

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It was International Coastal Clean-up Day on rainy Saturday so i opted to do my share on sunny Sunday, retrieving litter out of Knysna’s Salt River which feeds into the Knysna Estuary. I’d meant to organise some teens to join me but recent politics has zapped all my time. But we don’t need an excuse to clean up our environment, not even a special anti-pollution day. Unfortunately, there are people who don’t care about our town’s natural beauty and our health so its up to us to make up for them. Further motivation is that our tourist based economy relies … ‘Click here to read full article…’

Dead Fish at Knysna Estuary Culvert

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Whilst the navy was, in Knysna Oyster Festival tradition, being escorted by little boats to its berth next to SANParks, little fish were dying (or already dead) half a kilometer away. A Love Knysna subscriber took these photos of baby floaters at approximately 2.45pm yesterday. She said there were hundreds. She happened upon them by the culvert running alongside Long Street, just before the bridge to Thesen Islands and the turn to the Knysna Yacht Club. From the second picture, it seems as if pollution is the cause but that’s a red herring (so to speak). The tide was rising … ‘Click here to read full article…’

Knysna Pollution’s Naughty Contradictions

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At yesterday’s Community Services Section 80 meeting in the Knysna Council Chambers, pollution of the Knysna and Swartvlei estuaries raised it’s ugly head as it always does. Mike Maughan-Brown (Director Planning and Development) may be right in that the tide cleans away the ecoli in the swimming areas of Knysna but is that good enough? He expressed that he was happy with the health of the Knysna Estuary. In opposition, James McCarthy (Assistant Head of Municipal Health for the Lakes Area) said, “We are very concerned about land based pollution entering the [Knysna] Estuary.” Their positions gives support to the … ‘Click here to read full article…’

The Dark Side of Sea Lettuce

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It’s not toilet paper – yesterday’s government report was correct in that dried sea lettuce is what we’re witnessing on the shores of the Knysna Estuary. What was improper and unscientific in the report released by the Knysna Pollution Action Committee (SANParks, Knysna Municipality, Eden District Municipality and the Knysna Basin Project) was the exclusion of pollution as a possible cause. Yes, naturally induced “hydrogen and phosphate levels in the water which led to last year’s red tide” is a possibility but so can it be from the nitrogen released from the fertilization of lawns and golf courses (of which … ‘Click here to read full article…’

Cleaning the Knysna Estuary Shore

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Dolores Coullie, the owner of Pata Patina in Grey Street, has made it her mission to clean up the estuary shore next to the Knysna Angling Club. I joined her this morning for two and a half hours during which we collected at least 30kg worth of rubbish, much of it broken bottles. One corner was overwhelmingly smelly with rot and faeces. In fact, the first piece of rubbish Dolores picked up was a used condom. A distributor of Builder’s Express had dumped two large packets of pamphlets advertising holiday specials. Armed with thick gloves and paranoid hand sanitiser, we … ‘Click here to read full article…’

Knysna Estuary & Swartvlei River Pollution Warning

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At the Knysna Community Services meeting held yesterday, the results from September’s water samples were presented. They are cause for alarm and the Knysna Municipality must be seriously questioned for failing to alert the public. Note than non-compliance/danger is a reading higher than 500 E.coli/100ml: Queen Street Stormwater – 2419 E.coli/100ml Long Street Stormwater – 3000 E.coli/100ml Train Station Stormwater – 3000 E.coli/100ml KADA Stormwater – 1918 E.coli/100ml Crabs Creek (monitored twice) – 3000 E.coli/100ml

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R68 Million Plan to Stop Knysna Estuary Pollution

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The Knysna Municipal Section 80 Committee for Planning Development and Infrastructure last week (Thursday, 8 November 2012) recommended that its council commits in principle to allocate at least R38,3-million over the next five years towards the permanent reduction of pollution into one of its most important natural resources, the Knysna Lagoon. It also recommended that money be found in the draft adjustment budget for 2012-2013 to cover a shortfall of R380 000 for projects worth R29,6 million that have already been implemented or that are planned for immediate implementation. The report – which expresses confidence that funding can be obtained … ‘Click here to read full article…’

“Disturbingly High” Bacteria Found in the Knysna Estuary

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Download or listen to the audio version – ‘Parody of Poo’ June 23 2012: Nicci Rousseau-Schmidt (head of Knysna PR, PR for Knysna Tourism and employee of Worldsport) rushed to calm tourist fears about the upcoming Pick ‘n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival. “Yes, there’s faeces-induced bacteria in the Knysna Estuary but there is absolutely no reason for this season’s visitors to worry at all. Our oysters are safe because they aren’t our oysters. We import them from Port Elizabeth, Mosselbay and Saldanha Bay. I know that’s confusing but we also call our estuary a lagoon. If anything, we should be … ‘Click here to read full article…’