Page 51 - SAMRC Annual Report 2023-24

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Microbial Water Quality
Monitoring Research Unit

Unit director:
Prof. Anthony Okoh

Prioritising responsive research Cape Province (ECP). Within the overarching aim
through impactful interventions of our research initiatives which is "evaluating
some key emerging challenges in microbial water
The main goal of our EMU is to strive to be a highly quality and safety as a vehicle for skills and capacity
profitable Centre of Excellence for the development development in water science, especially amongst
of the next generation of microbial water resource the previously disadvantages demographic groups
specialists and to be primus inter pares in offering in the Province". The projects that we undertook
solutions to the myriad of water quality challenges in during the current cycle are summarised as follows:
South Africa and beyond. This mandate is driven by
the serious problem of shortage of skilled manpower (1) Wastewater treatment and quality indices
in the water and sanitation sectors especially of water resources and emerging challenges in
amongst previously disadvantaged demographic the water sector. (2) Antimicrobial resistance in
groups in South Africa, and our research is mainly the water-plant-food public health interface, (3)
directed at finding solutions to this reality through Chemical pollutants in the aquatic environment and
primarily addressing the myriad of challenges development of innovative nanomaterials for use
in the water and sanitation sector in the Eastern in their removal from water/wastewater, (4) SAMRC

Microbial Water Quality Monitoring team collecting samples at the Buffalo River estuary in East London.

SAMRC ANNUAL REPOR T 2023-24 49