Decrepit Mogale infrastructure a damper for tourism

Mogale City has been experiencing serious issues concerning the municipality’s infrastructure recently.

Over the past weeks, residents have had to deal with not only water interruptions but also a lack of maintenance and vandalism of public infrastructure leading to many issues, including the pollution of the environment affecting the livelihoods of businesses and residents.

The municipality issued several public statements recently to confirm that Mogale City’s Water Management Division was urgently working on the matter.

In the CBD specifically, the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court had to be temporarily closed due to the premises being flooded as a result. The burst pipes became a huge burden on residents and Danie Riekert confirmed to the Krugersdorp News earlier this week that his laundromat business has had to cut the hours of his staff due to no water and not being able to work.

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Mogale City councillor Mark Trump confirmed that plans to repair the damage have commenced, however, residents have still complained about the lack of urgency to restore water.

Another persistent issue about Mogale City’s infrastructure is the pollution in some parts of the city. A sewage spillage poses a threat to the major ecological areas surrounding the Bloubankspruit that flows through Muldersdrift.

The sewage is also reportedly affecting tourist destinations like the Cradle of Human Kind and businesses within that area.

Trevor Brough, the spokesperson for Acid Mining Drainage Monitoring (AMD) Forum and a resident who lives in Oaktree which is not far from the Cradle, said the issue has been ongoing since 2019, however, the municipality has not taken preventative measures to protect the environment.

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“That is one of the parts of our overall pollution problem in the Cradle of Humankind. The rivers through the area are heavily polluted by sewage, acid mine drainage, and potentially other sources as well. I have been busy with this issue since 2019 and to date, minimal results thanks largely to Mogale’s lack of action. In a catchment assessment conducted by AMD, it’s reported that the Munsieville sewage pump station has been non-operational for quite some time,” said Brough.

“There is raw sewage flowing across the intersection outside the pump station which has a direct impact on the residents there. The raw sewage then flows down the valley from there and into the Blougat Spruit which also has the outflow of the Percy Stewart Waste Water Treatment Works plant and the storm system of Krugersdorp in it. The Blougat Spruit has a confluence with the Riet Spruit which flows into the Cradle and through the core where it has a confluence with the Bloubankspruit which flows past and through various businesses and impacts them via smell and the various chemicals which are present in the water.”

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In addition to the report done by the AMD, research conducted by The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research from 2017 until 2020 confirmed that the pollution had a huge impact on the water, resources, and environment of the surrounding areas posed by acidic mine water and poorly treated municipal wastewater discharges from the local wastewater treatment facilities.

The News has reached out to the municipality to get more clarity on the contingency plans to fix the broken infrastructure, however, no feedback was provided at the time of print. It will be published once received.