Criminal case opened against Merafong for pollution
The Merafong City Local Municipality could finally be brought to book over sewage pollution in the area.
The Department of Water and Sanitation laid charges against the municipality at the Carletonville police for the ongoing pollution last month.
The well-known environmentalist, Ms Mariette Liefferink, has liaised with the Green Scorpions, which has an investigator who has successfully prosecuted municipalities not abiding by environmental legislation in the past.
Although the Herald asked the municipality for their comment, they said they did not know about the case against them.
Meanwhile, the municipality continues to pollute the two main rivers in the area. The Wonderfonteinspruit flows past Carletonville and Khutsong and later joins the Mooi River, which supplies Potchefstroom with its drinking water. It is polluted by sewage from various leaks in Khutsong.
In turn, the Loopspruit in Fochville is polluted by vast amounts of sewage leaking from manholes between Kokosi and the Kokosi sewerage works. The Loopspruit flows past farms in the area, and its water ends up in the Klipdrift Dam outside Potchefstroom, a popular dam for anglers.
“Merafong has been polluting our water for a long time and this endangers the lives of the community and encroaches on our constitutional right to a safe and healthy environment,” says Mr Jerry Ramokwatedi of the Merafong Dolomite Risk And Vulnerability Support Group, who has been complaining about the issues for some time.
