‘Unbearable stench’ may be here to stay
Residents of Baviaanspoort and surrounding areas may have to contend with stench and odours for a very long time.
Andrew Ngozo
Odours and stench are part and parcel of a wastewater treatment facility at Baviaanspoort correctional facility, Leeuwfontein and Franspoort. Residents have learnt they would have to deal with this for a long time, the Tshwane metro said.
The stench is caused by the Baviaanspoort wastewater treatment works (WWTW).
In September, Rekord reported about the Democratic Alliance‘s concerns about raw sewage from Dr Florence and Fabien Ribiero rehabilitation centre at Magaliesoord in Cullinan that was flowing into the Elands river. Councillor Danie Erasmus said this meant there was no purified air in the area which put the health and lives of residents at risk.
“The metro failed to maintain and service all installations and ensure the health and safety of residents in the concerned communities. This boils down to the fact that services are not being delivered in these areas,” he claimed.
The metro said odours and stench were part and parcel of normal operations at any wastewater treatment facility, including the Baviaanspoort WWTW.
“However, the intensity of the stench and odours may vary in terms of operational status. The Baviaanspoort WWTW is currently experiencing a shortage in sludge sprayers and pipes that can spray evenly on the sacrificial land. This has resulted in puddles of sludge that will take much longer to dry,” said metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo.
He explained that the rate of sludge fermentation on the sacrificial lands had increased due to the higher ambient temperature caused by the heatwave Pretoria recently experienced.
“The fermentation process produces bad odours that are released into the atmosphere. The little bit of rain relief resulted in mixing of the sludge, which further resulted in the release of odours from the non-established sludge,” he said.
To mitigate this, Baviaanspoort WWTW would be dosing lime on the sludge as a temporary measure in order to slow down the fermentation process.
Addressing water quality concerns at Pienaars river, Mashigo said water quality monitoring at the river was a continuous process. “Non-compliance occurrences are infrequent and when they do occur they are reported and dealt with as and when the need arises,” he said.
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