Water Quality Status in the Komati River Basin ANNUAL REPORT: April 2014-March 2015
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
KOBWA Water Quality Status Report _______________________________________________________________________ Water Quality Status in the Komati River Basin ANNUAL REPORT: April 2014-March 2015 Prudence Thobekile Ngwenya Environmental Officer KOBWA Water Quality Status Report _______________________________________________________________________ 1 Background The water resources of the Komati River Basin are used primarily for irrigation, hydropower generation, recreation, domestic and industrial water supply. Any changes to the quality of the water supplied by KOBWA could adversely affect its users. The water supplied by the project has to meet the water quality requirements for that use (fitness of use). It is essential for KOBWA to inform the Parties of the quality of the water and any changes thereof. 1.1 Why Monitor Water Quality? KOBWA is required by various legislation to undertake water quality monitoring in the Komati River Basin. The relevant legislation includes: 1.1.1 The Comprehensive Mitigation Plans National legislation in both South Africa and Swaziland require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Comprehensive Mitigation Plan (CMP) to be compiled before a project of the magnitude of the Komati River Basin Development project is undertaken. The CMP binds the project proponent to its implementation. The CMP prescribes a water quality-monitoring program and is very specific on the variables to be measured and the frequency of measurement. The program covers both compliance (during construction) and status monitoring (post construction). Flow transformations caused by release patterns on the dams are mitigated through special design of Dam intakes and outlet works, as well as the implementation of Instream Flow Requirement (IFR) releases. 1.1.2 National Water Acts National legislation in both countries specifies water quality objectives and standards for various uses. The Water Act (2003) and the Draft Water Pollution Control Regulations in Swaziland are key legislations setting water pollution standards. Similar legislation in South Africa defines the fitness of use, where water quality standards for irrigation, domestic, aquatic ecosystem health etc. are defined. It is important that KOBWA ensure compliance with these legal instruments when delivering water from the dams. 2014/2015 Annual Report April 2014-March 2015 KOBWA Water Quality Status Report _______________________________________________________________________ 1.1.3 The Treaty on the Development and Utilization of the Water Resources of the Komati River Basin which states the following: The Parties shall take all reasonable measures to ensure the protection of the quality of the existing environment [article 14(1) (b)]. The Parties shall prevent water pollution and minimize erosion [(article 14(6) (b)]. The JWC treaty further tasks the Parties with the prevention and control over the pollution of water resources and soil erosion affecting the resources and utilization. It also tasks the Parties to take the necessary steps to minimize waste and non-beneficial use of water from the Komati River Basin within their respective territories. As the implementing agency for the JWC and the parties in this project, and as part of its own operation and maintenance program, KOBWA has developed a water quality-monitoring program for the Komati River Basin. This document shows the monitoring results from the monitoring program. 2014/2015 Annual Report April 2014-March 2015 KOBWA Water Quality Status Report _______________________________________________________________________ 2 Introduction The Environmental officer is tasked with a responsibility to monitor and report on the water quality status of rivers and reservoir in the KOBWA area of operation. The key objective of these water quality status monitoring and reporting, is to assess the fitness for use in terms of its main uses, namely irrigation water supply, domestic water supply and maintenance of the aquatic ecosystem health and to identify any potential problems that would require management intervention. In order to achieve the above objective, the following water resources quality monitoring programs are undertaken to gather the required data and information for KOBWA to meet the objectives stated above: River Health Monitoring; status monitoring; real time water quality monitoring; Biological Monitoring; and Microbiological Monitoring. Please refer to Figure 2-1 for the location of the monitoring points 2014/2015 Annual Report April 2014-March 2015 KOBWA Water Quality Status Report _______________________________________________________________________ Figure 2-1: KOBWA Water Quality Monitoring Points The data acquisition component of the KOBWA water quality monitoring programme includes all the monitoring activities that are undertaken by KOBWA and includes obtaining data collected by other organisations undertaking water quality monitoring in the KOBWA area of operation; the main parties being Department of Water and Sanitation-RSA and Department of Water Affairs-SD. This document reports on the water resources quality status based on the data collected from April 2014 to March 2015. 2014/2015 Annual Report April 2014-March 2015 KOBWA Water Quality Status Report _______________________________________________________________________ 3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 River Health Monitoring This is a monitoring program initiated by KOBWA to assess the present water quality status in the rivers and streams located in the KOBWA area of operation. The fundamental information requirement is the need to describe the present water quality status and how it changes over time and space. Samples are taken on a monthly basis and analyses of the samples are conducted in KOBWA water mini lab. Most of the physical parameters are analysed in-situ to avoid possible changes in the physico-chemical, biological and aesthetic properties of the water. This section summarises the in-situ data. 3.1.1 Irrigation Use Figure 3-1 to Figure 3-4 show the results for the fitness of use of water for irrigation purposes for the reporting period of October-December 2014. It can be observed from the results that the water quality In terms of the fitness for irrigation, the quality of the water in the Komati River Basin, over the specified reporting period, was seen to be ideal to good. Figure 3-1: EC graph for fitness of irrigation Water Supply Purpose in Lomati River Catchment 2014/2015 Annual Report April 2014-March 2015 KOBWA Water Quality Status Report _______________________________________________________________________ Figure 3-2: EC graph for fitness of irrigation Water Supply Purpose in Komati River Catchment Figure 3-3: pH graph for fitness of irrigation Water Supply Purpose in Lomati River Catchment 2014/2015 Annual Report April 2014-March 2015 KOBWA Water Quality Status Report _______________________________________________________________________ Figure 3-4: pH graph for fitness of irrigation Water Supply Purpose in komati River Catchment From the above results it can be seen that majority of the catchment has access to ideal water quality. The Lower Komati area and Nsonyama area in Lumati were however varying from ideal to good for the fitness of irrigation when using electrical conductivity as an indicator of water quality. When the pH of water is used as an indicator of water quality, it shows that the water of the catchment is ideal for irrigation purpose. 3.1.2 Domestic Use Figure 3-5 to Figure 3-12 show the results for the fitness of water use for domestic purposes. When Electrical conductivity, pH, Fluoride, Nitrate and E. coli parameters are used as indicators of water quality, it was observed from these results that the water quality in the Lomati River Catchment and Komati River Catchment was ideal fit for domestic use for the whole recording period. 2014/2015 Annual Report April 2014-March 2015 KOBWA Water Quality Status Report _______________________________________________________________________ Figure 3-5: EC graph for fitness of Domestic Water Supply Purpose in Lomati River Catchment Figure 3-6: EC graph for fitness of Domestic Water Supply Purpose in Komati River Catchment 2014/2015 Annual Report April 2014-March 2015 KOBWA Water Quality Status Report _______________________________________________________________________ Figure 3-7: pH graph for fitness of Domestic Water Supply Purpose in Lomati River Catchment Figure 3-8: pH graph for fitness of Domestic Water Supply Purpose in komati River Catchment 2014/2015 Annual Report April 2014-March 2015 KOBWA Water Quality Status Report _______________________________________________________________________ Figure 3-9: Nitrate graph for fitness of Domestic Water Supply Purpose in Lomati River Catchment Figure 3-10: Nitrate graph for fitness of Domestic Water Supply Purpose in Komati River Catchment 2014/2015 Annual Report April 2014-March 2015 KOBWA Water Quality Status Report _______________________________________________________________________ Figure 3-11: E.Coli graph for fitness of Domestic Water Supply Purpose in Lomati River Catchment Figure 3-12: E.Coli graph for fitness of Domestic Water Supply Purpose in komati River Catchment 3.1.3 Ecosystem Figure 3-13 to Figure 3-16 show the results for the fitness for maintaining the aquatic ecosystem health. It can be observed that the water quality in terms of the fitness for ecosystem use, it is ideal for majority of the catchment except for Ingugwane and Nsonyama in the Lomati and the Lower