The fight for a cleaner Jukskei River continues

The fight by Scaling Urban Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa and Alexandra Water Warriors to tackle water pollution have revived hopes of a cleaner Jukskei River.
However, persistent issues including the spillage of sewage into the river and excessive littering remain.

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On 20th Avenue, there is a stream of sewage that trickles into the river. Further downstream, on the 18th Avenue near the bridge, two sewers are blocked, and the overflowing sewage finds its way into the river.

Titus Mahlalela, who sells his merchandise near the bridge, said the sewer system had been blocked for almost three weeks. Although one of them was previously unblocked, it is blocked again, and both have been spilling sewage into the river for weeks.

Jacob Mokhuabane works his small garden on 20th Avenue. Although there is a small stream of sewage flowing nearby, he said it didn’t affect his daily life, but acknowledged that it pollutes the river. “Even though it does not smell, it does get into the river, and since it is [not in view], the city does not see it. And, if the city does not see them [blocked sewers], they cannot fix them. But people also do not report them,” he said.

The founder of Alexandra Water Warriors Paul Maluleke said, “We were given a guarantee that whatever spillage that is happening is not too dangerous but we need to act fast, especially from the Setswetla side. There are households that have built toilets and they are discharging waste directly to the river. So, we have acknowledged that.”

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Besides the sewage spillages, Mokhuabane said some people dumped their waste into the river. But as revealed in a picture shared by one of the workers of the Warriors, the litter trap near the bridge was effective in preventing the waste from flowing further downstream. However, the amount of waste blocked by the litter trap underscores the sobering issue of the amount of waste people dump into the river.

An environmental justice activist Dr Ferrial Adam acknowledged the effectiveness of litter traps, but she said their efficiency could be affected by excessive littering. “They can be very effective but the issue is that we are dealing with extremely high levels of pollution, which then also affects the efficacy. In addition, with litter traps, there is a need for regular monitoring.”

Maluleka concluded they were working very closely with the Johannesburg Roads Agency and Johannesburg Water, and most of the solutions to the Jukskei pollution would come to fruition after the rainy season.

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