Thousands of dead fish found in Barberton farm dams and tributary to river
The mass death is thought to be the result of leaking sewage into the water from the Barberton Waste Water Treatment Plant.
Thousands of dead and dying fish have been reported to be polluting a tributary of the Suidkaap River in Barberton.
The pools of floating dead fish saturated the shoreline of the river. In a statement from FF+, Werner Weber said a motion from the party requesting the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature to investigate the shocking condition of the plant, was adopted without opposition during a session it had held on Tuesday September 7.
“After receiving complaints from farmers on land adjacent to the sewage purification plant, the FF+ paid a visit to the area. It was discovered that sewage from the plant was being pumped into a tributary of the Suidkaap River and then flowed directly into various agricultural dams.”
He said dead fish were also found in some of these dams. Weber said the plant has not been operational since the beginning of 2020 and does not only pose a serious environmental risk, but also a health risk to humans and animals.
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“The results of water quality tests, which farmers had conducted, indicates that the water is not suitable for human or for animal consumption.” Weber said the City of Mbombela had to remove thousands of fish from two farm dams in 2020.
“Furthermore, the sewage has had a destructive impact on the harvests of the farms nearby, as farmers recorded an annual decline in crop yield since the sewage dumping started. As a result, these farmers are taking the City of Mbombela to court for alleged revenue losses.
“The FF+ will hold Mpumalanga’s MEC for the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environmental Affairs, Mandla Msibi, and the MEC for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Busisiwe Shiba, accountable for ensuring that the said investigation is conducted and the municipality compelled to take the necessary remedial steps as required by the adopted motion,” he said.
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