The Merafong City Local Municipality has still not attended to a broken pipe that causes raw sewage to leak into the Wonderfonteinspruit.

During the past months motorists driving on the road between Khutsong and Welverdiend could not help but see a stream of sewage cascading from the bridge over this river. Sewage has been leaking from this pipeline since 2023.

Although the municipality did some work on the pipeline toward the end of 2023, it was leaking again around February 2024.

By September 14 a strong wind was spraying the sewage onto people or animals walking near the bridge. Pedestrians walking over the bridge also had to keep their faces covered so that it was not sprayed with sewage.

The leaking pipeline is supposed to transport sewage from the sections of Khutsong north of the Wonderfonteinspruit to the waste water treatment plan south of the river. Although water from the Wonderfonteinspruit is not used for drinking purposes, this river later joins the Mooi River that supplies drinking water to our neighbouring town, Potchefstroom.

This was, however, not the only problem near the facility.

Last week a concerned resident who often travelled past the sewage works, Mzwandile Kheswa, complained that a huge amount of sewage was spilling from manholes between the sewage works and the road. Although the leak had stopped, the sewage had not been cleared up and the municipality had also not thrown lime on the leak to stop the smell.

The municipality’s marketing and communication manager, Temba Fezani, also did not answer questions about the matter.