On 19 September, the sanitation team of Ngwathe Municipality, a representative of the product Envirodine, and a local river guide assembled at the Rooidam to address the issue of sewage accumulating in and polluting the dam.
The contamination has resulted in an unbearable smell for residents of the area. Rooidam was initially intended to irrigate gardens.
The product dispersed at the Rooidam contains 23 strains of free-living natural microbes and is 100 per cent organic.
It contains bacteria that break down the most common organics in wastewater with the added advantage of reducing grease (fat that plugs lines and causes blockages), and hydrogen sulphide odours (the smell surrounding the dam).
It has various uses, mainly for waste-water treatment, reducing muck in a pond (or dam) and enhancing water clarity.

Before the team dispersed the product, it took a water sample as a before-treatment water quality test.
It will take another sample in a couple of weeks for the after-treatment results.
As a preventative measure and to enhance the breakdown of the wastewater before it even reaches the treatment works, small bags of the product (encapsulated by a membrane) will be placed in the collection tanks of the sewage lines at certain high-risk pump stations across towns in Ngwathe.
Residents are again requested to assist the municipality by not throwing foreign objects into their toilets or kitchen sinks.
Among the objects observed last week were lollipop sticks, a golf ball, sweets wrappers, sanitary towels and plastic gloves.
Restaurants are asked to refrain from dumping hot grease into the sewer lines as it also clogs the system.