The water quality discussion
An enormous discussion and flurry of abuse has erupted since the recent publishing of an article in the Sunday Times regarding my riverboarding descent of the Orange River and the quality of water I have encountered.
The interview was conducted in Douglas after travelling through a heavily polluted section of river, before reaching the confluence with the Vaal River. A recent Orasecom report that was published and is available freely online describes the section from Vanderkloof Dam Wall downriver for as much as 180km as a highly altered environment and can be considered an ecological desert, and it is this section which I was primarily referring to during the time of the interview.
I could not comment on the water quality further downriver from the confluence as I had never been to those areas, so could not provide any info other what I have read in the Orasecom report.
The water quality in the area I had travelled to is affected by several towns, farms & industry pumping / free flowing a variety of toxins into the river... and the fact that I was travelling through the area at a time of year where water levels are low. High flow in the summer months has a way of naturally flushing the system, 'cleaning' it to some degree by dilluting what we as mankind are allowing to enter the river.
Now, 700km+ further on from the confluence and well on my way along the Namibian border, I can comfortably say now that I have experienced it first hand that this section is considerably cleaner.
While nature seems to have found a way to filter the water along the way and quality improved ahead of Upington, the quality took a dive once more after passing the Upington sewerage works. But, with a mass of reeds and grass between Upington and Keimoes nature appears to once again be fighting back.
The impact we as mankind are having on the river is clearly visible when passing urban settlements and some older farms who do not need to comply with export regulations.
I certainly wouldn't consider the water the same quality as that which comes out the ground at the source, nature is cleaning it slowly but surely. Farm runoff is certainly hampering nature's efforts, but it is getting cleaner as I travel downriver.
Here in Onseepkans (where I have been based for the last 36hrs) the water seems to be good, and as I have travelled from Kakamas above the Augrabies Falls down to here I have begun to progressively drink more and more water directly from the river.
I head onward today, in the hope that the water quality continues to improve as I head to the sea.
Despite this improvement, I have to stress how important it is for us to put pressure on the municipalities and industry to ensure that they are respecting the environment in which we are fortunate enough to live so that we can all continue to enjoy it... and reduce the impact we are having so that nature doesn't need to work as hard to fight back and clean up after us.