“Better environment, better tomorrow,” stood scrawled across the tank of the truck that was allegedly dumping raw human waste into a river in Duvha Park.
On December 13, two eyewitnesses allegedly caught the truck driver red-handed whilst he was busy emptying his ‘cargo’ into this small stream of water.
Our eyewitnesses told us that the smell of thick-sludgy faecal matter mixing with the already-dirty river water was overwhelming.
The truck that was allegedly dumping human waste into the river in Duvha Park.
One of the eyewitnesses who came forward confronted the truck driver and asked him whether his employers were unaware that it was illegal to dump human waste into this particular body of water.
ALSO READ
Naauwpoort goes number two in Witbank Dam
Flowing down the street – Water going to waste
The truck driver then allegedly told the eyewitness that
“a councilman gave me permission to dump here!”
Residents of both Duvha and Tasbet Parks, through which this ribbon of sewage meanders, have previously complained about the contamination of the aforementioned water source and the river that carries it there.
Previously it was believed that the raw sewage emanated from Naauwpoort Waste Treatment Plant which runs permanently over capacity, but could it be that these private enterprises who are dumping ‘dumps’ into our clean water sources are the real villains?
Raw sewage pumping into Witbank Dam at the bridge close to Steve’s Place.
The WITBANK NEWS approached Yeye’s Enterprise to get ‘the story behind the story.’ Yeye’s Enterprise alleges that they were never dumping raw sewage into the river between Duvha Park and Tasbet Park, but that their truck had been hired by eMalahleni Local Municipality.
On this specific day, a sewage pipe had allegedly burst that ran along the aforementioned river and the truck had been deployed to deal with the issue.
Yeye’s Enterprise alleges that a Mr Mabena from the Municipality was present on this day, and that their truck had not been pumping raw sewage into the river, but rather that it had been pumping raw sewage back into the burst pipe where it had originally erupted from so that repairs could be affected.
The truck that was allegedly dumping human waste into the river in Duvha Park.
eMalahleni Local Municipality was approached for comment, and after having been shown images of Yeye’s Enterprise truck at the river between Duvha and Tasbet Park, stated;
“The claims made by the two eyewitnesses are not factual. It is difficult to investigate or even comment.”
