Last week residents complained about the large balls of foam, drifting on the Hennops River, as well as the bad smell emanating from the river that is almost unbearable. Rekord contacted the councillor of ward 65 for an update on this matter.
According to councillor Christa Spoelstra, the Tshwane metro presented short and long-term action plans on the intergovernmental meeting held on Friday, 29 August. “The short-term plans include the cleaning of the river banks of tree branches and rubbish from upstream. The long-term plans are due to be presented at the next meeting. The creation of wetlands and building of silt traps are part of the plans.”
These silt traps will be constructed near the Agricultural Research Centre (ARC) in Irene. Residents from the area also have ideas on how to create revenue by generating electricity from the raw sewerage in the river. An action group was formed to investigate the possibility of this idea, and will give feedback at the next meeting.
“On Monday, the department of water affairs will meet with the Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg municipalities to discuss their action plans. The tests conducted at the river highlights the fact that the sewerage comes from upstream, which is Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg,” she said.
The committee also stressed that the department of water affairs did not take responsibility enforcing bylaws, which are already in place. At the next meeting water affairs needs to give feedback on how the municipalities, who are not complying, will be prosecuted.
For more news, like Rekord on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
