Scientific Services, Water Quality and Environmental Services Department.

There is increasing national and international concern about the detrimental effects of organic substances that are being released into the environment. Many organic compounds that are used in various manufacturing industries, agriculture and households are hazardous substances that do not break down naturally or do so extremely slowly when discharged into the environment. Most of these chemicals or their active ingredients can accumulate in the aquatic environment and become more concentrated higher up in the food chain over time. This increases the potential risks posed to human health and various ecosystems. These chemicals can cause an array of adverse health effects including various cancer, allergies, damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, reproductive disorders, disruption to the endocrine system or even death. Recently some pesticides and alkyl phenols occurring in South African water bodies have proven to be oestrogen and estrogen mimicking. The successful management and analysis of these organic contaminants in water in order to protect not only the consumer ’s health but also the environment, as a whole is a major challenge facing the South African water industry. Rand Water currently analyses for a number of organic contaminants in an attempt to ensure the safety of its consumers. This includes industrial chemicals, pesticides, disinfection by-products and cyanobacterial toxins. This paper addresses the approach adopted by Rand Water, the challenges encountered and some results obtained in its current monitoring programme. The paper will also present some of our thoughts on the way ahead