'Veil of secrecy' lifted: Vaal NPO has court order against Emfuleni municipality
Save the Vaal Environment and the River Property and Safety Association's order has forced the Water and Sanitation Department to deal with raw sewage flowing into and polluting the Vaal River and its tributaries.
FILE: Residents of Boitumelo township under the Emfuleni municipality say they have been neglected for nearly two decades. Picture: Abigail Javier/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - After years of raw sewage spills polluting the Vaal River and its tributaries, a community NPO and a landowners' association have secured a court order against the Emfuleni Local Municipality, and government.
The order, made by Judge Gregory White in the Gauteng High Court on Wednesday and brought on by Save the Vaal Environment (SAVE) and the River Property and Safety Association (RPSA), implicated ministers of water and sanitation, finance, environment, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Gauteng Premier and the Emfuleni Local Municipality, as well as its municipal manager.
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They have been ordered to stop pollution of the Vaal and its tributaries from the municipality's wastewater treatment system. This consists of three treatment plants, 44 pump stations, and roughly 1,600km of pipe networks.
The discharge of raw or partially treated sewage into the Vaal River is in contravention of the National Water Act, and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA).
Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu has 45 days to provide an affidavit stating what had been done to deal with the growing issue of pollution and give an action plan with timelines and funding.
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy must also provide an affidavit concerning criminal investigations relating to contraventions of the NEMA.
'BIG WIN'
SAVE chairperson Malcolm Plant described the court's decision as a "big win".
“This is a big win for Save the Vaal after the years of litigation and pressure placed on the authorities.
"We appreciate the support of the media which heightened awareness of the sewage pollution and stimulated both the implementation of Section 63 of the Water Services Act (through which the then Water and Sanitation Minister took charge of the Emfuleni wastewater system), and the intervention by the SA Human Rights Commission. The latter issued a revealing report on the sewage pollution of the Vaal River in February 2021,” Plant said.
He said he looked forward to SAVE and the RPSA participating at quarterly engagement meetings, in the name of transparency and solutions.
“We look forward to building a relationship with the relevant authorities, because all parties are working towards the same goal of a clean Vaal River within the Emfuleni jurisdiction.
"We know that work has been going on, but it is surrounded in a veil of secrecy. Transparent and honest communication is the foundation of a relationship, and helps to build understanding about the problems faced
during the refurbishment and expansion projects,” Plant explained.
HISTORY OF SUBSTANDARD WASTEWATER TREATMENT
Emfuleni and surrounding municipalities' rapid post-apartheid urbanisation is a significant source of its wastewater treatment woes. Founded in 1891, mining operations and industrial activities, namely steel, were rife, according to a report published by North West University history professor Johann Tempelhoff.
Johannesburg's wastewater treatment works began to collapse as early as 1997, impacting the Vaal Barrage, which at this point had to absorb more of Gauteng's upstream sewage and industrial wastewater.
This, compounded with a serious drought in 2014, sealed the fate of Emfuleni's sewage pump stations. It was in 2017 that SAVE first said it would pursue legal action against the municipality and has been lobbying for change and government intervention since then.