SASOLBURG – The DA has gone on the offensive, laying criminal charges against the Metsimaholo Local Municipality for what it calls the deliberate poisoning of the Vaal River through the illegal dumping of raw sewage. The case was opened with the SAPS on August 9.
According to the DA, the municipality has sat on its hands for months while untreated sewage gushes into one of South Africa’s most important water sources.
Even after an oversight visit by the Department of Water and Sanitation, no serious attempt has been made to stop the pollution.
The Abrahamsrus pump station, which lies right on the banks of the Vaal and has been earmarked as a priority for urgent repairs, is still dead silent.
Not a single fix has been done — and raw sewage continues to flow directly into the river. The Baddrif station, meant to push sewage to Welgelegen and then to Sasol for industrial reuse, hasn’t even been switched on.
For the DA, this is not oversight — it’s blatant negligence from senior officials.
The Leeuwspruit pump station, bordering a residential area, has become a daily nightmare for locals.
Manholes are overflowing, sending streams of raw sewage into the Leeuwspruit, which then feeds straight into the Vaal.
Residents live with stomach turning stench every day while the environment takes an ever-growing hit.
The criminal charges accuse the municipality of breaking multiple laws — including the National Water Act and the National Environmental Management Act — and violating the Constitution by failing to protect residents’ health and their right to a clean environment.
“This is not incompetence — it’s total abandonment of duty,” the DA said. “The Vaal River is a national asset. We will not stand by while it’s treated like a sewer.”
“Metsimaholo’s leadership must answer for their failure to act and explain why urgent repairs have been ignored.”
The DA warns that unless something changes fast, the fallout will be devastating — from increased outbreaks of waterborne diseases to the destruction of the Vaal’s fragile ecosystem and a blow to tourism, recreation, and business along its banks.