Adjustments made at the sewerage plant in Rethabiseng
The Rethabiseng Wastewater Treatment Plant was vandalised recently, but the City of Tshwane did what it could to restore power at this wastewater treatment plant.
The Rethabiseng Wastewater Treatment Plant was vandalised again within days of being operational after thieves stole its cables earlier this year.
This came after electricity supply cables at the plant in Rethabiseng were once again stolen. The municipality said the theft impacted the community because all the pumps stopped working.
A case of damaging and tampering with municipal infrastructure was opened at the Bronkhorstspruit Police Station.
The City of Tshwane is concerned about the number of vandalism incidents to municipal infrastructure in the Bronkhorstspruit area.
Jabu Mabona, the Regional Head of Region Seven said, “Recent infrastructure vandalism has a dire impact because all pump stations stopped working.”
“This also increases the number of sewage complaints because of the non-flowing of sewage at the outfall lines.”
The stolen cables stopped operations at the screw pumps that take sewage from the community to the pump stations and then to water treatment works.
Residents are questioning the whereabouts of the security guards specifically hired to safeguard the sewerage plant.
Mabona said vandalism of the municipal infrastructure creates a strain and deprives the public to receive quality and consistent service delivery.
“The money spent in replacing these cables could have been used elsewhere to improve service delivery.”
“We appeal to the community to report such crimes.
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“The municipality further urges residents to assist by reporting and guarding against the vandalism of its infrastructure,” said Mabona.
Flooding has also become a big problem at the wastewater treatment plant since someone removed a plastic sail that was put in place to prohibit the water from entering the plant.
Because of flooding of the wastewater treatment plant, which caused the pumps to stop working, the municipality dug a trench so that the water coming from the community side would not affect the treatment plant but flow into the trench and out of the wastewater treatment plant.
“We will also make sure that this problem will not happen again. We have erected barbed wire fencing around the concrete wall of the treatment plant.
“We have taken measures to ensure the treatment plant would not be vandalised again,” said Mabona.
