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Trees protruding from one of the sewerage ponds at the De Aar Waste Water Treatment Plant indicate that the facility has been at a standstill for months.

This is despite promises made by the Emthanjeni municipality, two years ago, that an application for Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) funding would be made for the repair and upgrade of the plant.

Oversight inspections and drone footage captured in recent weeks, have exposed the plant’s absolute state of disrepair.

The plant is abandoned and no municipal staff were on site during the DA’s inspections. The complete silence and lack of movement is a clear sign that no equipment or machinery is working.  While one of the ponds is overgrown, the other is almost empty and the third is green and stagnating. 

Overflowing sewage has spilled far into the surrounding veld, coming within a few meters of a railway line. The sewage is about 70 meters away from the Brak River riverbed, which is currently dry due to Emthanjeni’s ongoing water challenges. The 12 boreholes in and around the Brak River, which have yet to be connected to the water reticulation system, will have to be tested for possible contamination.

The dysfunctionality of the plant should come as no surprise, given the growing number of sewerage related issues experienced across Emthanjeni over the past few months. This includes a growing number of sewage spillages affecting homes, schools and businesses, the digging of open trenches to divert sewage flow away from residences, and even the dumping of sewage water into public areas.

It is clear that Emthanjeni municipality’s sewerage system has completely collapsed and that De Aar and Hanover are facing a crisis.

The DA’s Constituency Head of Bo-Karoo, Fawzia Rhoda, has reported our concerns to the South African Human Rights Commission, the Green Scorpions and Department of Water and Sanitation, and we are constantly updating them with new information.

It is, however, clear that we need to up the ante, to get Emthanjeni municipality to respond.

Given Emthanjeni’s contravention of environmental regulations, Rhoda together with DA councillors in De Aar and Hanover, are preparing to make this a criminal matter. A further update will be communicated in due course.

Issued by Gerhard Engelbrecht & Cllr Roweda Adams-Beukes - Emthanjeni Municipality