EcoFilter system will collect data to tackle sewage and industrial contamination

Untreated sewage leaking into the Jukskei River from poorly maintained city infrastructure, as well as industrial and urban runoff, poses a threat to the many people who use its water.

According to a study in 2021 by Dr Kousar Hoorzook of the University of Johannesburg's Process, Energy & Environmental Technology Station, bacteria in the upper Jukskei exceeded guidelines for irrigation, as well as domestic and recreational use. Concentrations of sodium, zinc, nickel, lithium and lead also exceeded recommended limits.

"The water is also a threat to aquatic ecosystem health and integrity," Hoorzook's team concluded.

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Now, a new EcoFilter system built on the banks of the Upper Jukskei may help clean water from the river for a community garden. It will also provide data to develop solutions to the river's pollution problem.

The EcoFilter system is made up of modular 1,000-litre units filled with indigenous plants which works like a wetland. The plants and bacteria filter the water and absorb harmful elements. It takes about ten days for the water to pass through the system.

Located near Victoria Yards, it is close to the source of the river, a spring near Ellis Park Stadium in Bertrams. The river flows through various urban areas before joining the Crocodile River and flowing to the Hartbeespoort dam.

The EcoFilter system is part of a three-year initiative focused on protecting biodiversity in urban communities in Ethiopia, Rwanda and South Africa - the Scaling Urban Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SUNCASA) project.

Jonny Harris, a director at Isidima Design and Development, who helped design and build the EcoFilter system, said the system is not a silver bullet but offers an opportunity for detailed data collection to inform larger-scale solutions in the future.

Harris says they will be monitoring the role of the different plants and filtration steps in removing contaminants.

Members of local NGO Water for the Future, which focuses on the Jukskei, have been trained to operate and maintain the EcoFilter system and collect data daily.

The project is awaiting approval from the Department of Water and Sanitation as a licence is required to extract water from the river.