Infestation plaguing local waterway still unresolved
“The municipality should stop wasting money and just do their work.”
Hyacinth clean-up operations at the Brakpan Dam suffered a major setback on Monday when the Watermaster machine, which is intended to remove the invasive plant, was dispatched to another area.
The machine arrived at the Brakpan Dam in March 2017 to assist with the infestation plaguing the local waterway.
With the hyacinth still flourishing in the dam almost two years later, many would agree that the Watermaster is ineffective.
Its removal, however, came as a surprise to DA ward councillor for the area, Brandon Pretorius.
“No one informed me of the removal, and more surprisingly, no one at the Brakpan Customer Care Centre (CCC) was aware of this, not even the customer relationship manager,” he said.
“This is shocking as she is the highest authority within the Brakpan CCC.
“The decision was taken by the higher structures within the environmental department to move the machine to Benoni.”
Pretorius told the Herald that the Watermaster will be used to assist with the hyacinth problem at Middle Lake in Benoni to relieve the lake’s retainer wall of stress after it partially collapsed over the festive season.
“Taking this into consideration, and noting the importance of the immediate attention needed in Benoni, my concern is that the Brakpan Dam has over the past two years not received the proper attention needed by the City of Ekurhuleni,” he said.
Also read: Development offers hope for Brakpan Dam
“Instead, I estimate that the city has spent more than R2-million on the failed operation at the dam, meaning that taxpayers’ money has been wasted.
“The dam has been closed for well over a year, and speaking to the head of the environmental department on Monday, it does not seem as if the department has a plan in place to clear the dam.
“So, in essence, the Watermaster has been removed and, until further notice, no hyacinth removal will take place.”
Pretorius explained that he was told the environmental department needs to investigate the main cause of the aggressive growth of the plant.
Following his own investigations in March last year, Pretorius claimed sewage is being released into the waterway.
“The neighbouring water treatment plant is operating above capacity and is incapable of maintaining an effective operation,” he said.
“This, as suggested a year ago, should have been the metro’s starting point.
“The dam has approximately 10 stormwater systems, as indicated by the roads and stormwater department.
“The test results of a year ago of the stormwater drain entering the quarry along Bedford Street indicates the presence of sewage pollution.
“A year ago these facts were given to the metro, and I proposed that they first put measures in place to stop any further sewage from running into the dam.
“Now a year later they want to take action, which means for the whole year the dam has been further polluted.”
Pretorius believes the municipality is incapable of doing its work.
“Years after being reported, no progress has been made at the Brakpan Dam,” he said.
“The clearing of the dam is a huge operation and will take time.
“More brainstorming needs to be done and, if possible, permission obtained to clear the dam as a community.”
The councillor encouraged anyone with possible solutions to contact him on 083 308 7821.
“As the DA we find this unacceptable and we will continue to apply pressure on the City of Ekurhuleni to ensure that someone gets held accountable,” he added.
“Together with the residents, we will fight to ensure that the dam gets cleared.
“The municipality should stop wasting money and just do their work.”
The Herald is awaiting comment from the metro.
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