POLLUTION in the Swartspruit has reached such an extent that intensive rehabilitation will be needed to revive it.
During a visit to the spruit the past weekend, ward councillors Tracey Butler and Johann Jordaan spotted a visible layer of oil on the water, as well as foam, human excrement and paint.
Butler said the DA repeatedly requested the metro’s environmental department to take action for over a year.
“Residents of the area, as well as members of Kempton Park Golf Club, have been complaining of an horrendous smell as well as white foam on the surface of the water. Over the past year I have monitored the situation and have repeatedly reported the matter to officials in to no avail,” Butler said.
“The implications of the neglect are not isolated to Ekurhuleni. The spruit flows into Rietvlei Dam which provides the City of Tshwane with drinking water. It is unacceptable that this spruit is being laid to waste due to incompetence and sheer neglect by the environmental department.
“The DA will send an urgent request to the Green Scorpions and call for an investigation to ensure that the metro is held accountable and complies with legislation that safeguards the environment and our most precious natural resource – water,” she said.
Express is waiting for comment from the metro.
