Blocked drain leads to spillage
This past weekend, industrial effluent originating from Nestlé's plant in Mossel Bay may have landed in the stormwater channel which discharges into the Bayview River.
Nestlé immediately responded to the spillage and clean-up teams were dispatched to remove the effluent by using a honey sucker.
"There was a blockage on the pipeline which conveys industrial effluent from Nestlé to the municipal pump station. This pipeline is located in Vlei Street. As a result of this blockage Nestle’s industrial effluent flowed down Vlei Street and flooded the municipal pump station.
"As a result there were large pools of effluent in the area around the pump station. Industrial effluent may also have got into the stormwater channel which discharges into the Bayview River," Mossel Bay municipal environmental officer Warren Manuel said.
He stressed that the blockage was not at the municipal pump station nor at any of the pipelines for which the municipality was responsible. "A partially blocked effluent drain near the onsite water treatment plant caused a mixture of water and milk to overflow through a manhole cover next to our Nestlé Mossel Bay factory on 9 October," Nestlé Director of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, Ravi Pillay explained.
"The cause of the blockage was a piece of concrete from the drainage system which was found lodged in the entrance to the transfer pipe. The overflow was contained within the hour of identification and vacuum tankers were commissioned to clear the spill. The clean-up was completed the same day.
"During the clean-up, we also cleared the vegetation overgrowth and rubble in the area to ensure tidiness," Pillay said.