KNYSNA NEWS - The venue of the Oakhill Waterfront Chukka Festival’s three-day water polo event for college learners had to be changed due to fears of e.Coli contamination at the original sight.
The event, which starts today (February 27), has been moved to the bay area between Quay Four and SANParks.
SANparks spokesperson Nandi Mgwadlamba explained that festival organisers alerted SANParks and Eden District Municipality of sewage being leaked into the Knysna Estuary. Knysna municipal workers investigated the site and found that fat traps in a pipe, some 100m from where the Chukka event was due to be held, led to a blockage and ultimately caused the leak into the estuary.
Due caution was used to prevent a potential health risk and the event was moved to a safe site suggested by SANParks.
Since e.Coli has an incubation period of about two days, water samples taken now will be a futile exercise, since accurate results can only be measured by March 1.
Mgwadlamba said that the alternative venue was ideal as it is in a protected bay, there is more tidal flow, sufficient parking space and also more land for spectators.
SANParks and Eden District Municipality will take this matter up with the Knysna Municipality at the Action Pollution Committee Meeting on Monday, March 2. The plan is to ascertain the extent of the damage by conducting a series of water samples and also to get to understand the broader network of pipes in the Knysna CBD linking to the sewer system. Linked to this understanding is a need for an educational awareness campaign of how people, restaurants and organisations in and around the town of Knysna manage waste.
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