Although the use of pesticides is necessary to meet the socio-economic needs of many developing countries, especially in Africa, side effects of these bio-active chemicals have contributed to contaminating aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Environmental water quality degradation by pesticides interferes with ecosystem health and poses numerous risks to aquatic life. In South Africa, glyphosate-based herbicides are frequently used to control weeds and invading alien plants, but ultimately end up in freshwater ecosystems. However, there are no South African-based environmental water quality management strategies to regulate these bio-active chemicals. Therefore, this study sought to provide a sound scientific background for the environmental water quality management of glyphosate-based herbicides in South Africa, by conducting both laboratory and field investigations. In the laboratory investigations, aquatic ecotoxicological methods were used to evaluate responses of the freshwater aquatic shrimp Caridina nilotica exposed to Roundup® at different biological system scales, and the responses of multiple South African aquatic species exposed to Roundup® through species sensitivity distribution (SSD). In the field investigations, the effect of Kilo Max WSG on the physicochemical and biological conditions of three selected sites in the Swartkops River before and after a spray episode by Working for Water were evaluated through biomonitoring, using the South African Scoring System version 5 (SASS5) as a sampling protocol. Both Roundup® and Kilo Max WSG are glyphosate-based herbicides. All the data were subjected to relevant statistical analyses. Findings of this study revealed that Roundup® elicited responses at different biological system scales in C. nilotica, while SSD estimates were used to derive proposed water quality guidelines for glyphosate-based herbicides in South Africa. The biomonitoring revealed that using glyphosate-based herbicides to control water hyacinth within the Swartkops River had a negligible impact on the physicochemical and biological conditions. Based on these findings, a conceptual framework that can be used for the integrated environmental water quality management of glyphosate-based herbicides in South Africa was developed as part of integrated water resource management (IWRM). The combined data sets contribute to a sound scientific basis for the environmental water quality management of glyphosate-based herbicides in South Africa.

A água é um recurso natural que, apesar de abundante, tem sofrido grande restrição em sua disponibilidade por conta da atividade humana, principalmente a agricultura. A garantia de conformidade da água que é distribuída à população quanto aos níveis tidos como seguros para a presença de contaminantes é, portanto, uma questão de saúde pública e que tem atraído grande atenção. De modo a detectar substâncias potencialmente nocivas, complexos procedimentos de química analítica são utilizados para a verificação e emissão de laudos de conformidade, utilizados para a tomada de decisão em relação à sua potabilidade. Neste cenário há demanda para métodos auxiliares para guiar a amostragem e realizar a triagem de amostras. O glifosato é o herbicida sistêmico não seletivo mais utilizado no mundo. Tal substância tem recebido crescente atenção, principalmente devido à sua ampla utilização e controvérsia em relação ao seu efeito potencialmente cancerígeno. Neste trabalho é apresentado um método para a detecção de glifosato diretamente em meio aquoso a partir da interrogação espectroscópica assistida por nanopartículas de prata. Com uso do espalhamento Raman, a região de assinatura espectral de moléculas em solução aquosa é acessível na região visível do espectro eletromagnético. Entretanto, o limite de deteção para este tipo de interrogação é prejudicado pela baixa intensidade do sinal ótico gerado. A intensificação do espalhamento Raman por um corpo metálico nanoestruturado é uma técnica que permite a detecção de traços de substâncias por meio de seu espectro vibracional. Nanopartículas esféricas de prata, com tamanhos de 5 a 20 nm, foram produzidas a partir da técnica de Ablação a Laser Pulsado em Líquidos resultando em uma solução coloidal estabilizada por íons de citrato, usado como surfactante. Um aparato experimental, composto por dois espectrofotômetros a fibra ótica e bombeamento por fontes de radiação laser e banda larga, foi implementado para interrogação das amostras de água com potencial presença de glifosato. O espectro vibracional foi obtido pela medição do espalhamento Raman intensificado em superfície (SERS) do conjunto de aglomerados de nanopartículas de prata formado pela agregação mediada pelo analito. Por meio do espectro de extinção UV-Vis, o estado de agregação das nanopartículas em solução coloidal foi medido. A partir dessa agregação, foi possível medir uma banda de espalhamento Raman intensificado dependente da concentração do analito. Um mecanismo baseado na interação entre o analito e o substrato foi proposto. A a partir dos resultados, realizou-se o ajuste na produção das nanopartículas, bem como sua interação com as amostras, permitindo a determinação do limite de detecção de 6,0 e 7,5 μM (1,0 e 1,3 ppm) para as duas técnicas de interrogação, UV-Vis e Raman, respectivamente. Um sistema de reconhecimento de padrões baseado no método da Análise de Discriminantes pelos Mínimos Quadrados Parciais (PLS-DA) foi implementado para a classificação de amostras. O sistema emprega a fusão em baixo nível dos dados espectroscópicos, UV-Vis e Raman, num único espaço de características. O sistema foi treinado e validado a partir de amostras de água deionizada e testado com amostras de água in natura com adição de glifosato. Considerando um limite de decisão de 10 μM, foi obtido um valor de acurácia de classificação de 0,85. / Water is a natural resource that, although abundant, has been under great limitation in its availability due to human activity, mainly agriculture. Ensuring compliance of the water that is distributed to the population on levels considered safe for the presence of contaminants is therefore a public health issue and has attracted great attention. In order to detect potentially harmful substances, complex analytical chemistry procedures are used to verify and issue conformity reports used for decision making regarding its potability. In this scenario there is a demand for auxiliary methods to guide sampling and to perform sample screening. Glyphosate is the most widely used non-selective systemic herbicide in the world. Such a substance has received increasing attention, mainly due to its wide use and controversy regarding its potentially carcinogenic effect. This work presents a method for the detection of glyphosate directly in aqueous medium from the spectroscopic interrogation assisted by silver nanoparticles. With the use of Raman scattering, the region of spectral signature of molecules in aqueous solution is accessible in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. However, the detection limit for this type of interrogation is impaired by the low intensity of the optical signal generated. The enhancing of Raman scattering by a nanostructured metallic body is a technique that allows the detection of traces of substances by means of their vibrational spectrum. Silver spherical nanoparticles, ranging from 5 to 20 nm in diameter, were produced by Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquid (PLAL) technique, resulting in a colloidal solution stabilized by citrate ions, used as a surfactant. An experimental apparatus composed of two optical fiber spectrophotometers, and pumping by laser and wideband radiation sources, was implemented to interrogate water samples with the potential presence of glyphosate. The vibrational spectrum was obtained by measuring the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of the silver nanoparticle clusters, formed by the analyte-mediated aggregation. By means of the UV-Vis extinction spectrum, the state of aggregation of the nanoparticles in colloidal solution was measured. From this aggregation, it was possible to measure one of the analyte concentration dependent enhanced Raman scattering band. A mechanism based on the interaction between the analyte and the substrate has been proposed. From the results, the tuning of the nanoparticles production, as well as their interaction with the samples was carried out. The limit of detection (LOD) of 6.0 and 7.5 μM (1.0 and 1.3 ppm) for the two interrogation techniques, UV-Vis and Raman, respectively, was achieved. A pattern recognition system based on the Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) method has been implemented for the classification of samples. The system employs the low level fusion of the spectroscopic data, UV-Vis and Raman, in a unique feature space. The system was trained and validated with deionized water samples and tested with fresh water samples with addition of glyphosate. Considering a decision limit of 10 μM, a classification accuracy of 0.85 was obtained.

Department of Hydrology and Water Resources / PhDH

MESHWR / Department of Hydrology and Water Resources / Water scarcity has become a constraint for sustainable development in the higher education institutions in South Africa including University of Venda. Water infrastructure is one of the major challenges within higher education institutions, the existing water supply infrastructure is over 20 years old and was not planned for the current population. This study aimed at developing a water management plan for higher education institutions in South Africa using the University of Venda as a case study. A water resource management plan provides a road map for reducing water consumption while encouraging sustainable water utilisation. Evaluation was done within the institution to identify water sources, water resources infrastructure and water utilisation. The study employed questionnaire survey to collect data on water consumption, to evaluate issues of the institutional participation in resolving the water problems within the institution and deduce water wastage. Water supply data was obtained from meter readings and water invoices obtained from Vhembe District Municipality and University of Venda. The latter were used to determine water consumption within the institution. Based on the sample size, the results indicated the estimated amount of water consumed daily by UNIVEN population is 66 341.9 l/d excluding water utilised at the cafeteria, car wash and auditorium. The average water supplied to UNIVEN in 2017 was 67 642. 25 mega litres/month, this indicates that more water is supplied to the institution since the estimated institutional water demand excluding illegal students in the residence halls ranged between 415 740 l/d and 597 620 l/d of water while the estimated institutional water demand including illegal students varied between 282 2610 l/d and 406 6580 l/d. The latter further indicates that there is water wastage within the institution because the water supplied monthly to the institution was in mega litres as indicated in the invoices, but the results indicated that the amount of water utilised daily within the institution was in litres, this clearly shows that the respondents under estimated the amount of water they utilise. The average amount of water used by students residing on campus was 271 l/p/d to 735.5 l/p/d while day scholars and university staff use 55 l/p/d to 142.5 l/p/d. The average amount of water used for cleaning ranged between 1 318.5 l/d to 3 909 l/d while gardening usage ranged between 4600 l/d and 8 600 l/d. The School of Agriculture experimental farm uses 9 270.4 l/d and the university laundry was found to utilise 5 186 l/d. The university laboratories were found to utilise 125 l/d to 215 l/d per practical session with 3 to 4 practical sessions conducted per week. The study found that the total water used by construction workers for domestic purposes iv is 800 l/d. The utilisation trends showed that during the dry seasons, the university population generally used about twice as much water as compared to wet season because municipal water was supplemented by rain water for watering plants and washing the pavement. The survey results indicated that students residing in the university residences waste more water by allowing the tap to run while brushing teeth, washing dishes, excessive use of water to rinse clothes while doing laundry, opening showers and leaving the water running while waiting for a desired water temperature. Activities such as watering flowers and lawn in an unmonitored manner and pavement washing in which the hose pipe runs for several hours during watering and pavement washing result in water wastage. The university does not have an environmental or water education projects that encourage students and staff to use water efficiently. Water conservation measures are lacking in the institution because there are no policies and procedures that outline how water should be utilised. The developed water management plan for University of Venda outline the current water consumption, targets for reduction, drivers for reducing water consumption and water reduction strategies. This study recommends that the University targets to reduce potable water usage by 12% in the next 5 years. The latter has been highlighted in the proposed water management plan. The proposed plan further presents a suite of strategies to reduce water usage, improve institution water resources data and to plan for the future. Water utilisation within the institution has not been efficient due to water not being utilised in a sustainable manner. Sub-metering of each building, water awareness campaign, introduction of water utilisation policies, routine inspection and maintenance of infrastructure and appointing an environmental coordinator or working with water experts in the School of Environmental Sciences will help reduce water consumption within the institution. / NRF

MPH / Department of Public Health / Water quality of drinking water has been linked to good health outcomes across the world. The aim of this study was to assess physico-chemical, bacteriological, community practices regarding collection and storage of water and evaluation of human health risk characteristics of drinking water supplied by the government to Lufule village in Thulamela municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa A cross-sectional study was conducted using questionnaires and interviews to determine drinking water handling practices and levels of contamination between the source and point-of-use at household. Assessment of water quality was carried out on 114 samples from selected sampling points using scientifically approved protocols. Total coliform was determined in 62.5% and 87.5% of the samples during the dry and wet seasons respectively. Similarly, E. coli was determined in 10.4 % and 13.2% in the dry and wet seasons, respectively. Trace metals levels in the drinking water samples were analysed and were within permissible range of both SANS and WHO. The calculated non-carcinogenic effects using hazard quotient toxicity potential, cumulative hazard index and chronic daily intake of drinking water through ingestion pathways were less than one unity, which showed that consumption of the water could pose little or no significant health risk. The results of this research suggest that lead has the potential of cancer risk to the residents through the cumulative ingestion in the drinking water samples of the studied area. Therefore, precaution needs to be taken to avoid potential risk of people in Lufule area especially, children. / NRF

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Land use alterations have been major drivers for modifying hydrologic cycles in many watersheds nationwide. Imbalances in this cycle have led to unexpected or extreme changes in flood and drought patterns and intensities, severe impairment of rivers and streams due to pollutants, and extensive economic losses to affected communities. Eagle Creek Watershed (ECW) is a typical Midwestern agricultural watershed with a growing urban land-use that has been affected by these problems. Structural solutions, such as ditches and tiles, have helped in the past to reduce the flooding problem in the upland agricultural area. But these structures have led to extensive flooding and water quality problems downstream and loss of moisture storage in the soil upstream. It has been suggested that re-naturalization of watershed hydrology via a spatially-distributed implementation of non-structural and structural conservation practices, such as cover crops, wetlands, riparian buffers, grassed waterways, etc. will help to reduce these problems by improving the upland runoff (storing water temporally as moisture in the soil or in depression storages). However, spatial implementation of these upland storage practices poses hurdles not only due to the large number of possible alternatives offered by physical models, but also by the effect of tenure, social attitudes, and behaviors of landowners that could further add complexities on whether and how these practices are adopted and effectively implemented for benefits. This study investigates (a) how landowner tenure and attitudes can be used to identify promising conservation practices in an agricultural watershed, (b) how the different attitudes and preferences of stakeholders can modify the effectiveness of solutions obtained via classic optimization approaches that do not include the influence of social attitudes in a watershed, and (c) how spatial distribution of landowner tenure affects the spatial optimization of conservation practices on a watershed scale. Results showed two main preferred practices, one for an economic evaluation (filter strips) and one for an environmental perspective (wetlands). A land tenure comparison showed differences in spatial distribution of systems considering all the conservation practices. It also was observed that cash renters selected practices will provide a better cost-revenue relation than the selected optimal solution.