Melinda Kusemachibi
The weekend May 21-22 2022 recorded the death of fish highlighting the ignored plight of aquatic life in the country’s natural water sources as a result of human action that one can arguably link to ‘negligence than human error’.
Residents from neighborhoods nearer Shagashe River were reportedly jostling to catch dead fish in the river after they allegedly succumbed to raw sewer disposed into their habitat by the local authority.
The death of fish followed almost two weeks of raw effluent flowing into the main water sources Mucheke and Shagashe rivers albeit via the decade-long incomplete Mucheke Trunk Sewer.
In their response on May 23, 2022 MCC acknowledged responsibility over raw sewage disposal though distancing themselves from assuming responsibility for causing the death of the fish.
“Council acknowledges the recent discharge of raw sewer into Mucheke and Shagashe rivers due to blocked sewer main lines in Mucheke A and Rujeko B as a result of vandalism.
“After the incidents, we collected and sent samples to a reputable laboratory in Harare for tests. We are therefore awaiting the results from the laboratory in order for us to ascertain whether the alleged death of fish was caused by raw sewer discharge or other chemicals that might have been deposited in the water bodies,” read part of the statement by MCC.
Environmental Management Agency (EMA) responded on May 25 through a statement saying they had noted the issue of disposal of raw sewage into the main sources of water Mucheke and Shagashe Rivers which is causing loss of aquatic life.
“The Environmental Management Agency has noted with concern the direct discharge of raw, untreated sewage into the environment, especially into Mucheke and Shagashe rivers. The Agency carried out investigation inspections to establish the possible causes of loss of aquatic life in Shagashe River, which was observed on the weekend of 21-22 May 2022. Firstly it was noticed that there was raw sewage draining directly into Mucheke River close to the Craft Centre,” read part of the statement.
EMA also added that from the tests they had done, the disposal of raw sewage affected the acqua life as the level of oxygen was too low for acqua to survive.
“From the tests carried by the Agency on 10 specifications from different points along the river, it was duly noted that of importance, D.O (level of free oxygen present) was 5.2% which was too low to support aquatic life and affect water quality which is red class.
“Conductivity ranges from 927-1576 which reflects that the river contained high masses of dissolved salts and inorganic matter hence conductivity increases with salinity which was ranging from 0.46-0.72 (green class) and this was also supported by the fact that resistivity was very low ranging from 0.006-0.0011. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) amount was high ranging from 467-787 which reflected that there were more cations and anions whilst permissible value is 500ppm, for fresh water the value might be very low. The most likely possible causes of increase in TDS are industrial, agricultural and mining activities,” added the statement.
However, the authorities seem to have forgotten aquatic life as evident by the disposal of such dirty into the water sources.
Environmental commentator Everjoy Mukwaturi said council is the chief culprit over disposal of raw sewage which is costing aquatic life.
“City fathers are to blame for disposal of raw sewage into Mucheke and Shagashe rivers that feed into Lake Mutirikwi, Masvingo’s main water source. They are the chief culprit as it is costing aquatic life. Contamination of sewage flowing into a body of water causes a detrimental chain reaction. What begins as an overdose of chemical elements, can ultimately ruin the ecosystem in place and is harmful to the environment.
“The effects of disposing untreated sewage in aquatic systems are depletion of dissolved oxygen this is a result of the oxidation of organic matter. Furthermore, increased nutrient loading with nitrogen and phosphorus in the waterway causes proliferation of invasive aquatic plant species like the water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes,” said Mukwaturi.
Director of Fauna and Flora Zimbabwe (Faflo Zim) Fidelicy Nyamukondiwa said the disposal of raw sewer into main rivers violates the constitution.
“The discharge of raw sewage into Mucheke and Shagashe River leading to the death of fish and other aquatic animals is both a health hazard and a blunt violation of environmental rights set out in Section 73 of the constitution. What is most disturbing is the fact that the death of aquatic animals coincided with World Biodiversity Day which was commemorated on May 22, 2022,” said Nyamukondiwa.
Wildlife Conservation Action public engagement programmes manager Tapiwa Chimbadzwa called on the relevant authority to take action on the preservation of aquatic life.
“Water pollution poses a serious threat to aqua life, therefore let us seek to create an environment conducive for all as we shape a better future for all life on this earth. To the relevant authorities, there is now need to put in place measures that can help the aquatic species recover,” said Chimbadzwa.
Contacted for comment Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said he was busy and could not comment.
“Currently am busy, I cannot comment,” said Farawo.
MCC has on a number of occasions been blamed for disposal of raw sewage into Mucheke and Shagashe rivers that feed into Lake Mutirikwi, Masvingo’s main water source.
The issue was raised in the 2019 Auditor General Mildred Chiri’s report on local authorities where Masvingo was rapped for contaminating water bodies.
COMMENT: Spare a thought for aquatic life
Recent reports on fish dying in Shagashe River allegedly to pollution of water by the discharge of raw effluent or sewage into the natural water body could be a sign of how aquatic life can be neglected by human beings who seem to be chief perpetrators of water pollution.
Quite a number of animal species use water as their habitat but human action continues to be detrimental leading to the destruction of that very habitat.
During the weekend of May 21-22, reports and videos of people scrambling for dead fish circulated on various social media platforms in Shagashe River though they disregarded what could have caused such deaths and resultant implications on their health.
For whatever reason could have led to such deaths, the onus is on responsible authorities to make sure cases of pollution are a thing of the past thereby ensuring water sources are free from any kind of pollutants.
The responsible authorities namely Masvingo City Council, its parent ministry that is Local Government, Public Works and National Housing as well as Environmental Management Agency (EMA) are taken to task in this case as failure to ensure the protection of water sources is solely their responsibility not taking away those residents who act irresponsibly by vandalizing sewer reticulation systems.
Initially had council and EMA acted swiftly to the reports of raw sewer flowing into Mucheke River which would then feed into Shagashe, the lives of these poor creatures could have possibly been saved and so is human health which became exposed after feeding on the fish. How can any responsible authority choose to argue that the flow of sewerage is due to vandalism instead of correcting the anomaly then address secondary issues of infrastructure maintenance?
EMA on the other hand could have swiftly moved into action and do what is expected of their management body and ensure water bodies are free of pollution of any kind or form.
If the death of fish could have been caused by any other discharge of chemicals into the river as some authorities would want to argue, again it is their responsibility to ensure such perpetrators are brought to book and held accountable of their actions and thus preserve precious lives of aquatic animals while at the same time the city’s major supplier of water is kept safe as well.
EMA and council should work closely with those stakeholders be it in the industrial area to make sure they won’t discharge chemicals into the river as it is hazardous to both animals that live in animals and human beings.
The ministry of local government is also called to task to ensure most of their local authorities put in place long lasting solutions to the perennial problems of liquid waste management that always lead to pollution of water sources which at the same time leads to high costs of treatment of that very water for human consumption. The House of Assembly as well could chip in and ensure stiffer penalties are imposed on those who deliberately pollute or cause pollution of critical human needs like water.
Moving away from blame-shift mentality would go a long way in addressing challenges people may face as that will entail bringing in workable solutions instead of identifying the root causes of such problems.