Sewage spillage in Apies feared
Outrage after fears that raw sewage has spilled into the Apies river.
Residents in the north of Pretoria could face severe health risks after raw sewage is feared to have spilled into the Apies River when the Rooiwal water treatment plant overflowed on Monday.
The Apies River feeds the Themba dam and provides drinking water to Hammanskraal residents.
Democratic Alliance Gauteng spokesperson on environmental affairs Janho Engelbrecht said the Rooiwal plant received volumes far greater than it was equipped to handle.
“A temporary remedy to capacity problems has seen workers at the plant by-passing the system, pumping sewage sludge on to an open plane as the plant can no longer handle this load. If it were to function as it should, the plant would shut down completely,” he warned.
He said the Apies River water was also used for irrigation by farmers next to the river and vegetables irrigated with this water could pose a health hazard.
DA ward councillor Hannes Coetzee said the E. coli count found in the Apies River was dangerously high.
Engelbrecht said water tankers had to be deployed in areas as a matter of urgency to prevent E. coli infection.
“The area where the sludge is pumped to should have a lining installed to prevent contamination of ground water. Furthermore, a retaining wall must be erected around the open plane immediately to prevent further raw sewage from contaminating the Apies River.”
He said the DA would open a case against Tshwane City Manager Jason Ngobeni for violating section 151 (i)(j) of the National Water Act.
The Rooiwal water treatment plant should be upgraded and maintained to ensure residents’ lives were not put in danger in the future. A tender for upgrading the plant was already 17 months late.
It was reported in 2011 that the department of water affairs had declared the Apies River a disaster area after raw sewage had been pouring into the river.
The Tshwane metro reportedly earmarked R143 million for maintenance and upgrading of the treatment plant in 2012.
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AfriForum head of environmental affairs Julius Kleynhans said the metro had made many improvements since 2011 but there was still a long way to go.
“We are planning on meeting with the team from the metro to discuss how far they have come in their plans of improving the plant. We are also aware of changes that are being made in management,” he said.
Kleynhans said AfriForum did water tests on Monday to ascertain whether raw sewage had been spilled in the Apies River. “Should the water tests return positive, we would take the necessary legal steps.”
He said the results of the water tests would be released next week.
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