MBOMBELA – Activists fighting to save the wetland around Kremetart and Koraalboom streets are pressing ahead to find a solution to this environmental disaster.

Despite the momentum gained in raising awareness about the problem, activists feel that the situation in the wetland is worsening with more manholes being covered with rubble since Lowvelder first reported on the issue two weeks ago.

City of Mbombela Local Municipality (CMLM) started clearing the area of foliage 18 months ago, which caused the wetland’s banks to erode. To counteract this, the dumping of building rubble has been sanctioned to fill up the banks.

However, this is causing problems of its own. Various properties border the wetland. Some are located 10 metres above the stream’s banks. The danger is that, should storm water come down the wetland stream, the sand walls next to these properties might cave in. Other properties are below the waterline and storm water would flood these houses.

The policy has caused some confusion. An altercation between activist Mr Sias Joubert, and Mr Marius Coetzee of Skip Hire at the hot spot in Kremetartboom Street, took place on Saturday.

At 09:00 Coetzee entered the site from the Koraalboom Street side with his bakkie and a Skip Hire-branded waste trailer.

He was confronted by Joubert who, with other activists, regularly prevents people from dumping building rubble.
According to the activists, CMLM has been using the refilling of the eroded banks as an excuse to allow the dumping of building rubble.

Coetzee presented Joubert with, what he thought, was a legal permit from CMLM to dump at the hot spot. He insisted that this letter was a legal permit to dump on the site. It was dated September 13 and signed by the general manager of community services in the municipality.

Joubert explained to him that the letter pertains to legal dumping, while dumping in a wetland is illegal.
Coetzee, however, reiterated that a representative from CMLM gave him permission to dump at the specific spot.

“If I had known that I am not allowed to dump here, I would not even have come here. Nobody told me this is a wetland,” said an angry Coetzee. He left without dumping the rubble.

During the altercation, a municipal truck arrived and dumped sand close to a 15-metre culvert that has been dug in the past two weeks.

Mr Ed Molewa of the municipality’s roads and storm-water department, explained that the culvert was being dug for a storm-water pipe which will divert water from the street to the wetland stream.

“There was a donga here. It is blocked and we had to make a plan,” said Molewa.

Joubert pointed out that the donga had been filled up with building rubble.

“You can’t destroy the wetland just because you want to restore the mistakes you made in the first place,” he said.

In the meantime, Ms Tercia Joubert conducted an on-site inspection with representatives of Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCM), a government institution responsible for the policing of local authorities to comply with the Water Act.

A case was opened with the Blue Scorpions and a case number, 1012310, obtained by one of the homeowners. The Blue Scorpions confirmed to Joubert that the dumping was in contravention of the Water Act.

Mr Arthur Douglass, technical manager of Sembcorp Silulumanzi, confirmed to Joubert that they, “do have outfall sewers along both sides of the stream – any erosion or back filling directly affects the sewers”.

He explained to the activists that any dumping, filling and flattening or bulldozing of the streams in and around the riverbanks could damage the sewer pipes and possibly cover the access to manholes.

“This could cause serious sewage blockages and pollution,” he said. He undertook to take the matter up with CMLM.

Mr Kyle Olivier, DA councillor, reported the issue to the City of Mbombela council and it will be investigated.

* Neither the Blue Scorpions, CMLM, IUCM nor Sembcorp Silumanzi responded to the newspaper’s queries at the time of going to press.