Plan to ‘save’ Vaal River
ACTIVE bacteria has been released into the Vaal River at various towns in the Northern Cape, including Vaalharts, Kimberley and Barkly West, following reports on the contamination of the river.
It was reported recently that daily 150 megalitres of raw sewage is flowing into the Rietspruit and Vaal rivers following the death of fish on the river near the Barrage.
This week, the Sol Plaatje Municipality also confirmed that there was a deterioration of raw water quality in the Vaal River.
According to municipal spokesperson, Sello Matsie, the extent of the deterioration was insignificant on water purification for domestic use so far.
“We are still applying the conventional treatment process successfully with no strain on process effectiveness and efficiency,” Matsie said.
He added that a noticeable change was on electricity conductivity, which is increasing (although this was slowly) as well as microbiology contamination. “The latter is, however, easily treated,” Matsie said.
“In general, although there is deterioration in Vaal River water quality, it has no significant impact on drinking water quality produced through our treatment process.”
Matsie reassured city residents that if the quality of water deteriorated to the extent that it was not fit for human consumption, the municipality would immediately alert the public and provide the necessary guidelines to ensure that there were no risks involved in drinking tap water.
“We are aware of the current situation in the Vaal River and are closely monitoring the situation. If necessary we will increase the dose of chemicals to ensure that the required standards are maintained.”
It was further reported that while the contamination of the river at Bloemhof was not as bad as the situation currently in Parys and Vanderbijlpark, there were traces of E coli in the water.
AfriForum regional co-ordinator in the area, Alta Pretorius, pointed out further that foam on the water, which was currently being observed, was also a sign of contamination and “eco tabs” had been put in the river to promote the growth of good bacteria.
The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation said in a statement issued over the weekend that it was convinced that the lack of investment in maintenance of the sewerage infrastructure by the Sedibeng District and Emfuleni Local municipalities was at the centre of crumbling current infrastructure leading to contamination of the Vaal River System.
“The committee visited the municipality and the Sebokeng Waste Water Treatment Plant and found that some of the units were not functional, leading to overloading of the remaining units. The committee has always emphasised the need for proper investment on maintenance of infrastructure to ensure longevity of the system and to avoid the unintended consequences like the spillage into the river system. It is also a requirement by the Department of Co-operative Governance’s Back to Basics programme that municipalities must spend 10% of their budgets on maintenance,” the committee’s chairperson, Mlungisi Johnson, said.
The polluting of the Vaal River – from the river’s source just north of Ermelo to where it joins the Orange River at Douglas in the Northern Cape – has been termed a national disaster.
Civil rights organisation AfriForum said that in an attempt to rehabilitate the river, branches had mobilised the communities from 16 towns to take steps in limiting the effects of the pollution on fauna and flora in and along the river.
“We cannot wait indefinitely until government solves the problem. That is why community members in Standerton, Ermelo, Villiers, Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark, Meyerton, Sasolburg, Parys, Vredefort, Orkney, Klerksdorp, Stilfontein, Bloemhof, Vaalharts, Kimberley and Barkly West have released active bacteria into the river,” Marcus Pawon, AfriForum’s head of environmental affairs, said yesterday.
“AfriForum’s campaign to save the Vaal River has an innovative element to help solve the current environmental disaster by releasing active, good bacteria into the water, which will break down bacteria and re-oxygenate the water. It forms part of the organisation’s short-term project to help save the Vaal River, while the more sustainable projects and plans are being implemented – with or without government’s co-operation,” Pawson stated.
He added that the organisation Save The Vaal Environment (SAVE) had correctly remarked that government has erred seriously to argue that fish mortality is a result of seasonal changes.
“If government does not fulfil its duties in this regard, AfriForum will institute legal proceedings to force inept officials to attend to the disaster,” Pawson stated.
The chairperson of SAVE, Malcolm Plant, said that the river between the Vaal Dam and Parys (in the Free State) was so polluted at present, it retained very little “natural” function.
“It is no surprise fish are suffocating in what has become an open sewer,” Plant said in an open letter to Water and Sanitation Minister Gugile Nkwinti.
He said the department had “failed dismally to discharge its constitutional mandate to protect the water resources of the country, and this is most acutely illustrated by the state of the Vaal River at present, a condition it has been in for more than a decade”.
In a joint statement, the department, Rand Water, the Gauteng government, and the Sedibeng and Emfuleni municipalities said they were working hard towards the resolution of the matters surrounding the state of the Vaal River.
“A number of issues that surround the non-performance of particularly the SRSS are being looked into, and proper planning towards their resolution is being put in place.
“This includes ongoing engagement with the local community to update it on progress and the importance of the scheme working.
“This resulted in the blockade of the scheme being lifted and the technical staff being allowed back on site.
“In order to ensure the security of this very important infrastructure, Minister Nkwinti has taken a decision to approach the president (Cyril Ramaphosa) so as to declare the SRSS a national key point.
“This will lead to not just heightened security around the facility but its operations not being interrupted by civil strife,” the statement read.