Rion Janse van Rensburg of the Christian rights group, Time2riseSA and #HOPE4SA is a clean water activist who has thrown his weight behind his own and other organisations to fight water pollution in informal settlements such as Plastic View in Pretoria east.
“I have always been on the environmentally friendly side,” he said.
He takes part in actions that enable communities to access clean drinking water in their neighbourhoods.
“Your right to clean drinking water is entrenched in the Constitution,” he said.
He has been involved in projects to uplift Plastic View and its more than 15 000 residents since 2023 with the help of organisations such as Time2riseSA, #HOPE4SA, SA Cares for Life, Moreleta Kerk, Divine Love Missions, U-Turn, Connect-it, The Challenge and Mega Voice.
Janse van Rensburg lives in the Grootfontein area just outside of Pretoria east.
He explained that analysis of the area’s borehole water and water sources revealed that the water table had been seriously polluted by several substances.
“Water hydrologists point out that Plastic View is situated on the large dolomitic Rietvlei-Witkoppies-Bapsfontein aquifer, south-east of Pretoria. An aquifer is an underground lake which is closer to the surface in certain areas than in others.
Pretoria east’s water table therefore is affected by any pollution, including the pollution at informal settlements.
“The water pollution therefore affects me directly and I have decided to be part of the solution.”
As a clean water activist, he started investigating how the water tanker system of the metro influences residents’ use of water.
He established that residents in the informal settlement often don’t have drinking water after 13:00, as the tankers are only available until lunchtime.
“There also were queues and queues of people waiting for water for a long time and then were even turned away,” he said.
He also was concerned that the informal settlement was being polluted by sewage and exposed to considerable health hazards.
Furthermore, unchannelled streams of water often lead to floods in the informal settlement.
“The paths between the informal structures become impassable.”
His research revealed that these polluted streams of water from Plastic View end up in the two tributaries on both sides of the informal settlement and in the Moreleta Spruit.
From there, the polluted water enters the Pienaars River. The river flows into the Roodeplaat Dam.
“The water from several products of farmers irrigating from the dam may contain microplastic granules. These granules enter the water due to plastic pollution. It cannot be healthy.”
Residents often have no alternative in getting rid of rubbish than burning it and some of this burnt plastic and rubbish also seeps into the ground.
“One saving grace is that there are wetlands between the tributaries and the Moreleta Spruit. We have to protect these wetlands, which act as sponges.”
Janse van Rensburg said an anonymous benefactor last year became aware that his workers in Plastic View were suffering from a lack of water.
The benefactor then had more than 20 taps as well as pipelines installed from his own pocket at strategic locations in the informal settlement.
Since January, clean water has been available in strong and durable community taps at various locations in the informal settlement. There is one tap for every 2 000 residents. This has reduced pollution drastically.
Janse van Rensburg said the next step is to see to it that drainage is provided around the taps and in the informal settlement.
The sewage runoff into the pools of water between the shacks will also be addressed.
“The stench from these stagnant pools is unbearable and poses a health hazard for residents,” he explained.
Currently, mobile toilets at the perimeter of the informal settlement have been made available for use by residents.
However, the metro’s giant Apollo lights in the informal settlement don’t work. Residents have indicated that they are too afraid to walk to the toilets at night.
Janse van Rensburg has also tackled projects together with other roleplayers to provide water usage education around environmental issues.
SA Cares for Life has converted old containers into a crèche in the informal settlement and put a fence around it. A vegetable garden was established there by Johannes Paul. The produce is provided to the school for meals. Paul does much to explain practices around water to the learners.
Janse van Rensburg said water pollution is due to especially the dumping of rubbish and the fact that the government does not remove it. He would like to see to it that a proper landfill site is established near the informal settlement with big metal bins where the community can dispose of their rubbish and that the bins are regularly cleaned by the metro.
For him, the next educational project is to teach the residents to take on joint responsibility for water usage by paying a nominal fee, like R2 per person every month.
“I think it’s time that our communities learn that one person cannot afford services, but that communities can stand together to make a difference to their own health and that of the environment.”
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