This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Across South Africa, natural springs are more than sources of freshwater. Some are places of healing, spiritual cleansing and rituals, where communities collect water and maintain longstanding cultural connections with the environment.
For example, during cleansing rituals, people bathe in or collect spring water as a way of seeking spiritual renewal, healing and protection. These are known as sacred springs. We are a team of environmental scientists and freshwater biologists interested in water quality, freshwater biodiversity and disturbances.
We set out to investigate an emerging form of pollution—microplastics—in nine sacred, unique and frequently visited freshwater springs in South Africa's Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. We selected these springs because they are locally recognized as culturally and spiritually important, but before this study, scientists had not investigated whether they were polluted. These sacred freshwater springs are quite remote and isolated.
Still, our research found microplastics in all nine. We detected 184 particles in total, with concentrations ranging from 5 to 48 particles per liter. There is no internationally agreed safe level of microplastics in freshwater or drinking water, so these concentrations cannot be described simply as "safe" or "unsafe." Results also vary because researchers use different methods to collect and test samples.
A one-liter sample from these springs could therefore contain anywhere from just a handful to dozens of tiny plastic particles. Although we cannot use this number alone to say whether the water is harmful to people, it shows that microplastic pollution is present and gives scientists a starting point for tracking whether the problem increases or decreases over time. Our findings highlight that even sacred springs thought to be pristine contained microplastics.
This could harm aquatic life, diminish the waters' spiritual value and expose people who drink, collect or bathe in them. This shows the urgent need for broader water-quality monitoring of sacred springs across South Africa. We investigated the sulfur-rich springs at Isinuka, near Port St.
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