A study conducted in Masiphumelele and three other local townships reveal that owing to poor sanitation and housing conditions, residents are subject to water pollution. Photo: Matthew Jordaan A study conducted in Masiphumelele and three other local townships reveal that owing to poor sanitation and housing conditions, residents are subject to water pollution. Photo: Matthew Jordaan
David Michaels
WATER pollution resulting from poor sanitation and substandard housing conditions is contributing to a high risk of diarrhoeal diseases in local townships. That is according to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health.
Researchers from Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town surveyed more than 1 000 people across 300 homes in the townships of Driftsand, Greenfields, Masiphumelele and Tafelsig.
An analysis of four informal settlements found that many individuals did not wash their hands properly, clean their toilets or correctly dispose of items soiled with human waste.
The research showed that 15 percent of families in low-cost homes place soiled items in storm drains, while another 6 percent disposed of these in the street. Samples of run-off in these regions had E coli strand counts from 750 to 1.6 million per 100ml. Overall, 56 percent of households eliminated their wastewater in a way that was “inappropriate”.
The study also showed that improper solid waste disposal was a contributing factor to run-off pollution as well, and 22 percent of households responded that they had dumped their waste on the street. Township residents nearly unanimously responded that they knew a dirty toilet carried a risk of sickness, and almost 80 percent affirmed that you could become ill by failing to wash your hands.
However, only 60 percent of those surveyed reported cleaning their toilet at least once a week. Also, about 60 percent of homes lacked a sink near the toilet, meaning those residents washed their hands in a kitchen sink, near food.
Bathrooms did not have soap 85 percent of the time and toilet paper was lacking 65 percent of the time.
Fourteen percent of participants reported suffering at least one bout of diarrhoea within two weeks of the study.
Worldwide, there are about 0.75 annual cases of diarrhoea per person, according to the World Health Organisation. In South Africa, diarrhoeal disease is the eighth leading cause of death.
david.michaels@inl.co.za