Yesterday, I visited the point where the Hartebeesfontein Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Ekurhuleni discharges effluent into the Rietvlei River.
From our observations, the poor quality of the effluent discharged into the river remains a major cause of pollution of the Rietvlei Dam in Pretoria.
English and Afrikaans soundbites by Ald Cilliers Brink
Since last year the pollution of Rietvlei Dam has meant that the Tshwane Metro can no longer extract water from this abundant natural source for purification and distribution.
My team and I also met with the CEO of the Ekurhuleni Water Care Company (ERWAT), the municipal entity in the Ekurhuleni Metro responsible for the Hartebeesfontein WWTP and the pollution of the Rietvlei River.
To the credit of the ERWAT team they were candid about the biological overload at the plant and their responsibility in helping with the rehabilitation of the Rietvlei Dam.
Tshwane, on the other hand, has been less than candid about what is happening at Rietvlei. ANC deputy mayor Eugene Modise has claimed that Rietvlei can be rehabilitated in a matter of a few months.
Judging from the state of pollution of Rietvlei, evident from tests and observations by Friends of Rietvlei, and the tentative information obtained from ERWAT, the project to fix Rietvlei will be a far more complicated project than Modise suggests.
It is essential that Tshwane does everything in its power, including exploring more than one possible technical solution, to rehabilitate Rietvlei because it holds the potential to make Tshwane significantly more independent from bulk water suppliers.
The DA is concerned that Tshwane’s water team lacks critical management and technical expertise. Stephens Notoane, the suspended Group Head of Water and Sanitation, and one of the Rooiwal Five, is still on suspension, while it should be clear by now that his employment relationship with Tshwane has broken down irretrievably.
The DA will write to Tshwane City Manager Johann Mettler to ask that urgent action be taken to resolve Notoane’s disciplinary matter along with that of the rest of the Rooiwal Five.