Sewage spill: This was not the first time
The state of many municipal waste water treatment systems is deteriorating, according to the 2022 Green Drop report.
Concerning recent media reports showing a sewer manhole in Parys, overflowing into the Vaal River, is not a first for the Ngwathe Local Municipality.
In August 2018, the Gazette referred to reports as far back as 2011 and 2012 about the Ngwathe Municipality’s sewage spills. In 2018, the publication reported on regular sewage spillage at the Tokoloho sewer pump station, which was also referred to in the 2011/12 reports.
On 15 July 2020, the Gazette reported on an overflow at the same manhole at the Sandgat in Rotary Avenue, where bloody water was flowing directly into the Vaal River, as was seen last week.
In the same report, Vaal Action Group confirmed that it had seen sewage flowing from the manhole in February, March, and twice in June 2020.
Then already, the Freedom Front Plus had written to deputy president David Mabuza, asking him to attend to the pollution of the Vaal River urgently.
Johan Smit, a hydrogeologist and resident of Parys, also confirmed that he had witnessed regular sewage spills from the Sandgat manhole since 2008. In 2010, Save the Vaal Environment took Ngwathe to court with an urgent application to stop the spillage of sewage into the Vaal River. The court then gave Ngwathe a deadline to halt the spillage.
Ngwathe’s Executive Mayor, Cllr Victoria de Beer responded to the recent manhole spillage, saying that stones and other foreign materials blocked the sewer, and the obstruction caused the spillage from the manhole.
Officials of the department have investigated the spilling and said the department is in the process of issuing a directive to the municipality to stop the pollution.
But what is alarming is that the Green Drop report released by the Department in 2022 indicated that the state of many municipal waste water treatment systems is deteriorating.
“This means that many municipalities are discharging effluent from the waste water (sewage) treatment works which does not meet the specified treatment levels, which in turn is resulting in pollution of the rivers and dams from which municipalities and water boards draw water in order to treat it before supplying it to communities,” the department said.
