The City of Tshwane must first acknowledge the Bronkhorstspruit sewage crisis before it can be resolved, believes DA mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink. 

Brink addressed concerned residents in Bronkhorstspruit, south-east of Pretoria, during an election campaign breakfast attended by about 24 people earlier today (July 21). 

Dairy farmer Carlien van Rensburg said the meeting did not address their most serious concerns, including the muddy condition of the road leading to the sewage farm and the failing infrastructure. 

Brink, however, contended that the first step is for the municipality to acknowledge that a problem exists. 

“We all know that wastewater treatment plants are polluting natural water systems across the province and the country,” he said. “You cannot simply deny it; you have to acknowledge the reality so we can start looking at solutions.” 

Criminal charges laid over ongoing pollution 

Caxton Network News reported on July 17 that residents had endured severe health and environmental hazards for years because of the neglected state of the town’s sewage treatment plant. 

Frustrated by the City of Tshwane’s inaction, resident Quintilla de Vries laid a criminal charge against the municipality, prompting political condemnation of the neglect and calls for urgent national intervention. 

De Vries is not the first to lay a complaint against the city, as the sewage crisis extends into Mpumalanga, threatening Balmoral, Witbank and the Loskop Dam catchment. 

The Mpumalanga Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) opened a case against the municipality for polluting waterways in Bronkhorstspruit as early as 2023.

The charge of contravening water conservation legislation followed an inspection by DWS officials on November 16, 2023, after complaints about broken sewage pumps. 

Jack Bloom, the deputy minister of water and sanitation, is reportedly also set to lay charges against the city, though Brink could not confirm this. 

“I don’t know about that, but certainly in the discussions I had today, I want to bring Jack [Bloom] to that point, show him, and enlist his help to put pressure on the municipality to attend to the issue,” Brink said. 

Charges close doors rather than solve problems, says forum 

Paddy Waller, the director of non-profit organisation the Bronkhorstspruit Catchment Management Forum, said the organisation had laid criminal charges before, but such actions only closed doors without providing a solution. 

“We started the organisation about eight years ago, and during that time, we took several steps, from sending emails to trying to build relationships with new heads, but to no avail,” Waller said. “For now, we can only act as a watchdog by reporting problems, building working relationships with people in power and ensuring the issue stays on the agenda.” 

The Bronkhorstspruit sewage plant is about 50 years old, and Waller said one of the biggest problems is a lack of maintenance. “The solution is, of course, to build a new plant, but until that is possible, interim solutions need to be implemented, such as done at the Delmas wastewater treatment plant.” 

The City of Tshwane reportedly budgeted R4m to repair an existing damaged sewer pipe feeding the Bronkhorstspruit plant, but a lack of funds delayed the project to the next financial year. 

DA highlights long-standing infrastructure flaws 

According to Brink, the DA has been trying to address the sewage line polluting Bronkhorstspruit for several years. 

“DA Councillor Ryan Uys has taken this up with residents, and our theory of the case is that the pipe feeding that sewer line is simply too narrow to deal with the load,” Brink said. 

Brink also admitted that the sewage problem is only one of many broader problems in the area, which has 63 000 residents. “The meeting dealt with many issues – remember, this is a big area – including electricity, waste, roads and SAPS not servicing the area as it should.” 

Meanwhile, newly appointed Minister of Agriculture Willie Aucamp met with farmers in the district earlier today for a closed discussion. 

Brink said details of the meeting would be released in due course. 

Caxton Network News has sought comment from the City of Tshwane since Friday, but enquiries remained unanswered at the time of publication. 

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