TCLM responds to animal waste in river
Guideline scripts such as municipal by-laws as well veterinarian regulations are being looked into for guidance in the matter.
Thaba Chweu Local Municipality (TCLM) has responded to the animal waste seeping out of a manhole near the industrial park in town.
Steelburger/Lydenburg News reported on the matter on June 13. Animal blood and debris were overflowing from a clogged manhole into the Dorps River, causing severe health risks to humans and animals downstream who are exposed to the water.
The newspaper contacted TCLM to query the cause of the pollution and how the municipality will combat and rectify the spillage of waste.
Themba Sibiya, communications manager of the municipality, said preliminary investigations conducted by the relevant sections within Thaba Chweu, including that of the technical, community services and local economic development, and planning departments, have suggested that the source of the waste is a nearby abattoir.
“Further consultations and engagements with the entity concerned are taking place with the aim to find a lasting solution to the problem.
“The TCLM team is on site, unblocking in an upward/backward direction toward the hotspot as the impact of clogging has affected a longer section downstream,” Sibiya explained.
He confirmed that guideline scripts such as municipal by-laws as well veterinarian regulations are being looked into for guidance in the matter.
“This includes researching other bigger municipal case studies. Follow-up meetings are set to take place with the abattoir management, as well as on-site inspections to establish the root causes and remedial actions.”
The newspaper visited the site of the waste contamination earlier this week. The manhole and sewage flow have been restored and it seems as though the clog has been attended to.
