It has taken us a long time to get to this point, as we know that the problem of spillage has been going on for an extended period.
Vaal River, South Africa (23 January 2020) – The Managing Director of the East Rand Water Care Company (ERWAT), Tumelo Gopane, says steady progress is being made in the Vaal River clean-up project.
Vaal River is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about 30 kilometres north of Ermelo and only about 240 kilometres from the Indian Ocean. It then flows westwards to its conjunction with the Orange River southwest of Kimberley in the Northern Cape. It is 1,120 kilometres long and forms the border between Mpumalanga, Gauteng and North West Province on its north bank, and the Free State on its south.
It is the third-largest river in South Africa after the Orange River (2200 km long) and the Limpopo River (1750 km long) and was established as the main source of water for the great Witswatersrand area after the gold rush during the 19th Century.
During a press conference held in November 2019, the chairperson of the ministerial rapid response task team, Thami KaPlatjie, told reporters that the purpose of the river clean-up by the national and provincial government was to curb the pollution caused by spillages of raw sewage into the Vaal River.
The continued spillages are having a negative environmental and health impact on the community and surrounding wildlife, including on the socio-economic growth of investment of the local businesses.
Giving an update to the Water and Sanitation Minister this week, Gopane said a lot of wastewater networks in Vereeniging have been cleared, which has increased water flow to the wastewater treatment plants.
“Before unblocking the sewage systems, only 20% of wastewater could reach the treatment plants, and 80% of it would be lost to spillage,” Gopane said.
The Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, recently visited the Vaal River Intervention Project in Emfuleni, Johannesburg. She said her department is working to ensure that spillage in the Vaal River does not happen again.
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“It has taken us a long time to get to this point, as we know that the problem of spillage has been going on for an extended period. However, I would like to assure the community and the rest of South Africa that government is committed to doing things differently, and to ensure that people live in dignity,” Sisulu said.
She appealed to the local community to protect their infrastructure and ensure that there is no vandalism. She also emphasised the importance of all stakeholders in the Vaal River Intervention Project to play their part to ensure the success of the project.
The business community has committed itself to work with the project leaders and the Vaal community to ensure that the intervention succeeds.
Gopane appealed to communities not to throw foreign objects in the wastewater pipelines. He also called on Emfuleni Local Municipality to enforce the existing and updated by-laws and to educate communities of the gravity of throwing unwanted objects in the sewage system.
A follow-up meeting is expected to be held in June, where ERWAT will provide details on the project’s progress.
About the project
ERWAT, an entity of government specialising in wastewater treatment, was appointed to take over and build on the progress that began with the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) between December 2018 and end of November 2019.
Ten contractors were appointed, and 117 local people from Emfuleni were employed for the project.
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