Jagersfontein disaster: Alternative sanitation must be provided urgently, warns expert

E .coli, shigellosis, typhoid fever, salmonella, and cholera are some of the diseases facing the Jagersfontein community if the raw sewage continues flowing into a nearby dam.

“The mudslide demolished the sewage works and all sewage is currently flowing untreated into the stream, together with the tailings,” said environmental governance specialist Carin Bosman.

“It has already gone down the stream quite a bit and will soon reach the Kalkfontein Dam, which is a source of water supply of a number of towns in the area, including Jagersfontein and Fauresmith.”

Bosman, a former department of water affairs director, now with Water Resource Protection and Waste Management, warned alternative sanitation must be provided urgently and berms must be placed to prevent the slimes and untreated sewage from reaching the Kalkfontein Dam before it rains.

“Even if a temporary buffer dam is constructed just to trap the sewage, it’s the stuff which carries diseases, that’s why we clean it to begin with,” Bosman said.

Bosman said people shouldn’t be touching anything without gloves and they must wear boots to protect themselves.

Jagersfontein Developments spokesperson Leigh-Ann Carey said the company’s priority remained the safety and health of the community and returning them to their homes and livelihoods.

“Water has been largely restored to the town, a major step towards readying the company for cleanup operations,” Carey said. “Jagersfontein Developments employs 70% of its workforce from the surrounding community. As such, it is committed to restoring operations and the town to continue providing incomes for these families.”

Carey said the company has appointed an independent investigation team to investigate. Residents whose houses were not completely destroyed by the mudslide from the mine are trying to rebuild their lives.

Confidence Mthatha said everything in her house was damaged and nothing could be salvaged. Despite the visit by various government officials, including President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday, they still felt left on their own.

“First of all, we still do not have water, this water in the house is contaminated because the water is from the mine,” Mthatha said.

“It has chemicals and other poisons that we do not know. No one has provided us with masks, we had to buy our boots to try and clean our houses. We have not even had a person from the disaster management to check if we are following protocol. We don’t even have clean water to clean up houses. We have had nothing at all.”

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She also raised concerns about the food parcels that have been given to the community.

“How do you give people raw rice and other uncooked things when they don’t not have access to water and electricity. How do they expect us to cook it? I don’t think the people who have come here are of any assistance, they are just showing off because they have to say they did come to see us. We are also just surprised that they come to a disaster wearing suits.”

Another resident, Martin Molosioa, said the mud was all over the house and everything in their house has been destroyed. Molosioa said no one has provided those with houses which were half-damaged with anything.

“We have had to make our own plans. The only option now is to build a new house. We have no clue where that money will come from.”

Piet de Bruin, a local farmer, said he lost 15 cows and had only three left, which had nothing to eat or drink since Sunday.

“There’s no place for them to eat, the dams are contaminated. I will have to move them from this area if I want them to survive,” De Bruin said.

“The one I was trying to catch now, I only discovered it was alive today after I was told by one of the boys who herds cows in the area. The damage this has caused is so painful.”

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Gift of The Givers spokesperson Corene Conradie said yesterday they distributed mattresses, blankets, food and water to the displaced families.

Conradie said the most needed aid in the town was water as the whole town has been without water since the incident. She said their teams were dispatched to assist the community this week but it seemed the water and electricity will be off for much longer.

“We are awaiting feedback from the local municipality and we will then be able to say how long we will be in the area,” said Conradie.

– lungam@citizen.co.za