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Against the background of Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina having announced that more than 50% of the country’s municipalities faced criminal charges for failing to address raw sewage spillages into fresh water resources, a leading expert has warned that the crisis in metros and large cities was serious, with its long-term consequences underestimated.
In response to a parliamentary question from DA MP Cathlene Labuschagne, Majodina disclosed that 50.61% of municipalities were subject to criminal proceedings for noncompliance with government directives on sewerage management.
According to Majodina, her department had issued 164 directives for raw sewage spillages into freshwater resources – from 2019 up to last September.
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The investigation found that of the municipalities assessed, 94 were noncompliant, while 54 were partially compliant. Only 15 achieved full compliance, with one municipality remaining unrated.
The department has initiated 83 criminal cases against non-compliant and partially compliant municipalities. However, 69 municipalities had no information available to determine any potential action against them.
Prof Kevin Winter, sanitation expert with the University of Cape Town, yesterday said the condition of SA rivers and lakes, was “creating overwhelming social, economic and ecological concerns”.
“People are unable to use freshwater systems such as lakes and lagoons for recreational purposes,” said Winter.
“Those living alongside waterways are struggling to live in conditions where odours from wastewater discharge have become unbearable.”
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Ten years ago, researchers were quoted as claiming that 70% of South Africa’s rivers were no longer possible to restore because of the destruction of ecological systems.
Referring to criminal charges against the municipalities, Winter said: “I am not sure what the minister’s intention is in laying criminal charges.
“Taking municipalities to court – if it should even reach this stage – will be a fruitless waste of resources.
“Without greater support from the department or financial support from the National Treasury, litigation will not deliver the intended outcome.
“I am working with one municipality where hundreds of makeshift homes in an informal settlement daily discharge their wastewater into the stormwater system that enters a nearby river.
“The officials know about this but are overwhelmed by the extent of the problem.
“There are legacies that got the town into the state in which it now finds itself.
“Simply put, the officials know about the problem and criminally charging the municipality will not deliver the solution that is required.”
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Winter said infrastructure, technological capacity, planning capability and human resources, were “required to support and improve water quality discharge”.
“Most municipal officials I work with know the extent of the problem, but city and town budgets do not prioritise this in their budgets,” he said.
“Politically-elected officials do not see pollution as a priority, because citizens ignore the problem and do not put sufficient pressure on municipalities to accept the need to change these looming circumstances.
“We need a resounding motto – that the health of urban settlements is seen in its waterways.
“Cities are becoming sick,” he said.
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He called on citizens to “become more active in ensuring that we do not allow pollution to engulf us”.
“Unfortunately, in South Africa it always takes a crisis to address matters like this.
“We should not wait until people get sick from consuming polluted water.
“This will be a real shame, because the cost of health care should not be transferred from a deteriorating environment onto an already constrained healthcare system.”
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