Durban - The state of the eThekwini Municipality’s wastewater treatment plants has come under scrutiny following revelations that some are not licensed to operate by the Department of Water and Sanitation.
Ousted former deputy mayor Philani Mavundla claimed that several plants were not licensed and some were dysfunctional.
Mavundla revealed that as far back as November 2021, there was a report compiled by the city that revealed the dire state of its wastewater works.
The city’s head of water and sanitation, Ednick Msweli, said yesterday that he did not have updated figures, but there were about two plants that were unlicensed while 10 were operating with old permits while they go through the licensing processes, which normally takes about three months.
He said the licensing process involved rigorous inspections by the department that could result in some plants being denied permission to operate.
The revelation comes as the city battles to fix damage to its infrastructure which is leaking raw sewage into rivers, leading to the closure of some beaches.
Mavundla said the November 2021 report detailed the dire state of the wastewater works in eThekwini, therefore it was wrong for it to be listed among reasons for him to be ousted from his position.
Mavundla was removed from his position as deputy mayor and chairperson of the Human Settlements and Infrastructure Committee by the ANC last week during a full council meeting.
DA spokesperson for Human Settlements and Infrastructure Melanie Brauteseth said the party was aware that some of the city’s wastewater plants had challenges. She said the Department of Water and Sanitation evaluates wastewater treatment plants as part of its annual green drop report programme. These reports indicate whether a treatment plant complies with minimum standards.
“The sad reality is eThekwini has dropped from 90% compliance in 2013 to 76% compliance in 2021. This means 17 of the treatment plants in eThekwini are not compliant, resulting in hundreds of millions of litres of sewage flowing into our river and seas every single day.
“It is also abundantly clear a massive funding injection will be required from the Treasury which should focus on this crisis rather than continually bailing out failed state-owned entities,” she said.
Democratic Liberal Congress leader, councillor Patrick Pillay, said the matter needed to be urgently investigated and addressed by the city manager.
“The officials who are responsible for this non-compliance must be dealt with accordingly. Wastewater treatment works are very important in the treatment of raw sewage. It is paramount that the city takes this matter seriously and deals with it with the urgency it deserves,” he said.
Msweli said in the past the wastewater works had been operating with the general authorisation permit and now the department of water and sanitation wanted the plants to have licences.