Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
The threat to South African water security posed by wastewater-driven eutrophication: a proposal for a new regulatory approach
The quality of South Africa's raw potable water resources is severely impacted by eutrophication (nutrient enrichment). As much as two-thirds of the reservoir impounded resource may be affected. Wastewater effluents and/or the integration of wastewater return flows as part of the water balances of m...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Institute of Marine and Environmental Law
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613231407693824 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Harding, William Russell |
| author2 | Feris, Loretta |
| author_browse | Feris, Loretta Harding, William Russell |
| author_facet | Feris, Loretta Harding, William Russell |
| author_sort | Harding, William Russell |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The quality of South Africa's raw potable water resources is severely impacted by eutrophication (nutrient enrichment). As much as two-thirds of the reservoir impounded resource may be affected. Wastewater effluents and/or the integration of wastewater return flows as part of the water balances of many reservoirs constitute the primary source of this nutrient pollution. South Africa's historical awareness and understanding of the eutrophication threat to surface waters is comparable with that of other, similarly-afflicted, countries. In particular, the need to manage phosphorus was recognised as early as 1962 when South Africa promulgated one of the first (global) regulations for phosphorus in wastewater effluents. More recently, eutrophication has been ranked as a high priority by the the National Water Resource Strategy. Despite this background, phosphorus removal from wastewater effluents in South Africa remains virtually unregulated. Additionally, there is no resource-directed protocol for the accounting of all sources of phosphorus (or other pollutants) at a catchment level, rendering problematic, if not impossible, the fair and equitable allocation of levies on wastewater discharges. This dissertation examines how wastewater-originating eutrophication is regulated in the USA and Europe, with phosphorus as a central focus. A comparative assessment of the equivalent situation in South Africa is provided and the shortcomings of the latter highlighted. As a solution, I suggest an equitable and transparent scheme of pollutant accounting by individual source, ideally suited to the allocation of waste discharge levies. Applied against a specific resource requirement, for example an identified need to reduce phosphorus in a particular reservoir, this approach also provides a legally sound scheme for pollutant load regulation and permitting. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/25302 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:32:51.499Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | Institute of Marine and Environmental Law |
| publisherStr | Institute of Marine and Environmental Law |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/25302 The threat to South African water security posed by wastewater-driven eutrophication: a proposal for a new regulatory approach Harding, William Russell Feris, Loretta Environmental Law water security The quality of South Africa's raw potable water resources is severely impacted by eutrophication (nutrient enrichment). As much as two-thirds of the reservoir impounded resource may be affected. Wastewater effluents and/or the integration of wastewater return flows as part of the water balances of many reservoirs constitute the primary source of this nutrient pollution. South Africa's historical awareness and understanding of the eutrophication threat to surface waters is comparable with that of other, similarly-afflicted, countries. In particular, the need to manage phosphorus was recognised as early as 1962 when South Africa promulgated one of the first (global) regulations for phosphorus in wastewater effluents. More recently, eutrophication has been ranked as a high priority by the the National Water Resource Strategy. Despite this background, phosphorus removal from wastewater effluents in South Africa remains virtually unregulated. Additionally, there is no resource-directed protocol for the accounting of all sources of phosphorus (or other pollutants) at a catchment level, rendering problematic, if not impossible, the fair and equitable allocation of levies on wastewater discharges. This dissertation examines how wastewater-originating eutrophication is regulated in the USA and Europe, with phosphorus as a central focus. A comparative assessment of the equivalent situation in South Africa is provided and the shortcomings of the latter highlighted. As a solution, I suggest an equitable and transparent scheme of pollutant accounting by individual source, ideally suited to the allocation of waste discharge levies. Applied against a specific resource requirement, for example an identified need to reduce phosphorus in a particular reservoir, this approach also provides a legally sound scheme for pollutant load regulation and permitting. 2017-09-22T12:04:33Z 2017-09-22T12:04:33Z 2017 Master Thesis Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25302 eng application/pdf Institute of Marine and Environmental Law Faculty of Law University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Environmental Law water security Harding, William Russell The threat to South African water security posed by wastewater-driven eutrophication: a proposal for a new regulatory approach |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | The threat to South African water security posed by wastewater-driven eutrophication: a proposal for a new regulatory approach |
| title_full | The threat to South African water security posed by wastewater-driven eutrophication: a proposal for a new regulatory approach |
| title_fullStr | The threat to South African water security posed by wastewater-driven eutrophication: a proposal for a new regulatory approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | The threat to South African water security posed by wastewater-driven eutrophication: a proposal for a new regulatory approach |
| title_short | The threat to South African water security posed by wastewater-driven eutrophication: a proposal for a new regulatory approach |
| title_sort | threat to south african water security posed by wastewater driven eutrophication a proposal for a new regulatory approach |
| topic | Environmental Law water security |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25302 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hardingwilliamrussell thethreattosouthafricanwatersecurityposedbywastewaterdriveneutrophicationaproposalforanewregulatoryapproach AT hardingwilliamrussell threattosouthafricanwatersecurityposedbywastewaterdriveneutrophicationaproposalforanewregulatoryapproach |