Clostridium are ubiquitous in nature and common inhabitants of the gastrointestinal track of
humans and animals. Some are pathogenic or toxin producers. These pathogenic
Clostridium species can be introduced into surface water systems through various sources,
such as effluent from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and surface runoff from
agricultural areas. In a South African context, little information is available on this subject.
Therefore, this study aimed to characterize Clostridium species isolated from surface water
and aquatic sediment in selected river systems across the North West Province in South
Africa. To achieve this aim, this study had two main objectives. The first objective focused on
determining the prevalence of Clostridium species in surface water of the Schoonspruit,
Crocodile and Groot Marico Rivers and evaluate its potential as an indicator of faecal
pollution, along with the possible health risks associated with these species. The presence of
sulphite-reducing Clostridium (SRC) species were confirmed in all three surface water
systems using the Fung double tube method. The high levels of SRC were correlated with
those of other faecal indicator organisms (FIO). WWTP alongside the rivers were identified
as one of the major contributors of SRC species and FIO in these surface water systems.
These findings supported the potential of SRC species as a possible surrogate faecal
indicator. However, limitations of SRC species as FIO were noticed in this study.
Furthermore, the results showed that the physico-chemical parameters such as temperature,
dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand, nitrates, phosphates and sulphates present in
the water had a great effect in the Clostridium spp. levels during the warm-rainy season.