Ongoing sewage leaks put our rivers at risk
The constant problems are damaging our environment.
While people worldwide celebrated World Earth Day, residents of the Merafong City Local Municipality complained about the ongoing sewage pollution of our environment.
World Earth Day was on Monday, 22 April. This event, promoting the protection of the environment, started in 1970. Despite this, our local municipality continues to do very little or nothing to stop especially sewage pollution.
On Monday, more sewage than ever gushed from a pipeline on the bridge over the Wonderfonteinspruit to the Khutsong sewerage works. Sewage also flowed down a road to the facility from an overflowing maintenance hole. Although the Wonderfonteinspruit water has not been suitable to use as drinking water for decades due to mining pollution, informal and formal farmers use it for their animals and crops. Besides, it later joins the Mooi River, providing Potchefstroom’s potable (drinking) water.
Neither the Khutsong sewerage works nor those in Welverdiend and Wedela, are fully functional. Although the municipality got contractors to work on the sewerage network in Kokosi for several months last year, residents around Extension 6 still complain about significant sewage leaks. “Our sewage problems only improved a little, but then became just as bad as before,” a resident living near Imfundo Secondary School said on Friday.
“Would someone please help us? There is a funeral, and we don’t know how we can work in these conditions,” another resident of the same area complained.
Meanwhile, massive amounts of sewage were also leaking towards the Loopspruit from a continually overflowing maintenance hole below the Fochville Traffic Department, while sewage has been leaking from another next to 26th Avenue in Welverdiend for over a month.
The municipality responded on Tuesday that it is still awaiting the appointment of contractors at Kokosi and for the Welverdiend and Wedela sewerage works. A Jet Vac machine is on site to help with the sewage leaking at the Khutsong sewerage works while the sewage leaking near the Fochville traffic department can only be sorted out once the rubbish has been cleared.
