A four-step plan to ‘fix’ Ncandu River
Newcastle Municipality launched a wide-scale project to address the issue of Pistia Stratiotes, or 'water cabbage' earlier this year, but many have adopted the rallying cry, 'too little, too late'.
The sub-par state of the Ncandu River is nothing new to the residents of Newcastle.
Newcastle Municipality launched a wide-scale project to address the issue of Pistia Stratiotes, or ‘water cabbage’ earlier this year, but many have adopted the rallying cry, ‘too little, too late’.
Mayor, Afzul Rehman, said specialised equipment had been sourced to physically remove the invasive plants. The municipality is in the process of sourcing funds from the Department of Water and Sanitation to continue its work, but the community seemed dissatisfied with the progress made to date.
Here’s what they had to say:
“this is not a new problem! has been brewing for YEARS! Dept Water and Sanitation was to take action against this municipality. what is happening?” – Phil Hair.
“Where is the mayor now?” – Garrith Cronje.
“Looks more like nothing has been done,” – Christopher Thompson.
*Posts quoted verbatim.
In last week’s edition, the Newcastle Advertiser listed several questions forwarded to the municipal Communications Department to be addressed by September 22.
On October 29, an official from the Department said response regarding the clean-up campaign would be forthcoming during the course of the day. No formal comment was received at the time of publication.
Democratic Alliance Shadow Minister of Environmental Affairs, Thomas Hadebe, said water cabbage was an ‘aggressive invader’ that formed thick floating mats.
“If these mats cover to whole surface of the Ncandu River, it can cause oxygen depletion and all submerged aquatic plants and wildlife species will die. The mats can also interfere with the free flow of water, especially during floods,” he explained.
Mr Hadebe said the root of the problem lay within Newcastle’s failing water and sewerage infrastructure.
He proposed four steps be followed to address the situation:
– Water and sewerage infrastructure refurbishment should be apex priority on the council budget.
– Establish a anti-leak war room, where water leaks and sewerage spills can be reported and dealt with effectively.
– Establish a dedicated leak repairing team and provide training to the general workers to become plumbers.
– Draw from the FET students studying plumbing to do in-service training.
“The technology is so advanced that there is no need to excavate the ground to locate the leaking pipes,” he added.
He claimed the municipality needed to apply for funding from the following departments:
– Environmental Affairs: to deal with invasive species.
– Water and Sanitation: infrastructure refurbishment.
– National Treasury: Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG).
“The municipality needs to advertise and call for interested, established plumbing companies who can detect and fix leaks within the Newcastle jurisdiction. This exercise alone will save the municipality millions of Rands, which are lost due to the water leaks. Besides that, the municipality will have to ensure every drop is used sparingly,” concluded Mr Hadebe.
What are your thoughts on the plight of Ncandu River?
Is the municipality doing their bit to address the matter? Email us at ncschools@caxton.co.za.
