JW appoints contractor to rehabilitate contaminated Jukskei River
Citys spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said according to Johannesburg Water report at this point, much cannot be done downstream. More work needs to be put in place upstream, at Alex, to try and resolve all the socio-economic issues.
follow up
A shortage of oxygen in the Jukskei River is a suspected reason why hundreds of fish died.
The dead fish were discovered by Ward 132 councillor Annette Deppe in Waterfall earlier this month.
Read more: Ward 132 councillor concerned about Juksei River’s contaminated water
Subsequently to the discovery, Deppe and the Environmental Health pollution control officers urgently conducted a site visit on August 8.
However, in an article, Jukskei River water tainted [Week ending 16 August], the environmental health department had not responded before going to print.
In their response through City’s spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane on August 19, they said the inspection aimed to take water samples as per Deppe’s request and to determine the extent of the water quality in the river.
Also read: Community members clean Jukskei despite rain
Modingoane said the results were not back as yet to conclude on the cause, but this pollution is the effect of the sewer spillage upstream in Alexandra.
“The water sample will be back in a week. Yes, the sewer spillage is the cause of dead fish,” said Modingoane.
When asked if it was possible to rehabilitate the river and ensure the ecosystem is not negatively impacted, he said, “yes. Johannesburg Water (JW) has appointed a service provider to mitigate the impact.
“According to the report received from JW, the project to fix the line is envisaged for the end of August. Thereafter another service provider needs to be appointed to rehabilitate the stream and that can take some time due to the supply chain processes. At this point much cannot be done downstream, work needs to be put in place upstream, at Alex, to try and resolve all the socio-economic issues such as illegal connections, and vandalism to the networks that impact the city’s infrastructure, and which leads to sewer lines and manholes leaking each day in the area,” added Modingoane.
JW’s response to Deppe was that the remediation for the sewerage spill in the far East Bank that caused the Jukskei River Spill was underway.
“The instruction project was given to the contractor yesterday [August 14] to commence with the work today, [August 15] with a week construction period. Practical completion must therefore be reached by August 29,” read the response.
Follow us on our Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok pages. Join our WhatsApp group for any story ideas you may have.
Related article: Resident is on a mission to clean the Jukskei River
