Press release issued by Councillor Phillip Nothnagel, Ward 5
“We immediately set out to establish the true scale of the crises and requested a response from the Municipal Manager at ELM,” says Nothnagel.
The following statement was received by Mr. Lucky Leasane MM of ELM:
It is not true. It is about 11 of the 44 pump stations that are not operational. Is not true that 100% of sewer goes to pollute the Vaal river. Pump station 2 is part of the scope that is done by Rand Water and they previously appointed a contractor on this work. It is true that construction started and was delayed at this pump station. Rand Water is still the implementing agent for this pump station.
Nothnagel stated in his press release that be that as it may, nobody can deny the fact that the sewer crises have become an ecological disaster of unimageable proportions, which and should surely be regarded as the last nail in Emfuleni’s coffin.
“It is a fact that raw sewer is not reaching the pump stations. Rietspruit get some sewer by gravity and Leeukuil relies mostly on pumping. Both these treatment works are getting extraordinarily little sewer for treatment at this stage
“The Sebokeng plant is currently only getting 30 instead of a 100 Megaliters per day which is less than its design capacity. All the good work and commissioning of module 6 are currently not being utilized. The money spend by the SADF and the Ekurhuleni Water Care Company (ERWAT) has largely been wasted because the lines are blocked again.
“The time for drastic action and intervention has come and gone,”says Nothnagel.
A statement has been issued in a Cabinet Meeting on May 27 by the Ministry in the Presidency, Republic of South Africa. It states:
Emfuleni Local Municipality intervention
3.1. Cabinet approved the intervention by national government to resolve the water and sewerage challenges faced by the community under the Emfuleni Local Municipality in the Sedibeng District in Gauteng. The intervention is in terms of Section 63(2) of the Water Services Act, 1997 (Act 108 of 1997).
3.2. The poor state of governance and financial management at Emfuleni Local Municipality has resulted in minimal maintenance of the water and sanitation infrastructure. This has resulted in continuous sewerage spillages to surrounding communities and the Vaal River which pose a serious health hazard to over 120 000 households living around the area.
3.3. The Department of Water and Sanitation has been directed to oversee this intervention and report back to Cabinet annually. Cabinet further approved the setting up of an IMC that will consider the broad challenges of water facing a number of municipalities. The terms of reference and members of this IMC will be announced in due course.”
“We trust that the belated intervention will prove more successful than all the other fruitless and wasted efforts, which wasted millions of taxpayer’s monies during the last number of years. We will hold the Minister and Parliament responsible for the cleaning up of our Vaal River system,” Nothnagel concluded.
