The Department of Water and Sanitation has filed an affidavit outlining all measures taken to date by Minister Senzo Mchunu in respect of the Vaal River Intervention.
The affidavit has been filed in terms of section 63 of the Water Services Act, 1997, on measures pertaining to an ongoing court application launched in 2018, where Mchunu is a respondent in the High Court.
According to the department, the agreement was made an order of court, and the notice thereof was given on June 26.
The main court application, which was filed by NGO Save The Vaal Environment, concerns “the discharge of raw or inadequately treated sewerage by Emfuleni Local Municipality from its wastewater care and management system into the Rietspruit River and/or the Klip River and/or the Vaal River and/or the Vaal River Catchment Area”.
“The matter has not been finally ruled on by the court. The section 63 Vaal Intervention, one of the ministry’s priority projects in Gauteng, includes the upgrading of water infrastructure, refurbishment, operations and maintenance, sustainability, water conservation, water demand management, and advocacy within the Vaal area,” the department said.
“This is meant to deal with urgent matters relating to security of supply, and more urgently, matters relating to the pollution of the Vaal River, and enhancement of capacity for the embattled Emfuleni Local Municipality.
“Rand Water, as the implementing agent, was formally appointed on the 5th of October 2021. Minister Mchunu will be filing a detailed affidavit, containing amongst others, progress updates on the various elements of the intervention.”
Civil rights organisation AfriForum say they have carried out several water tests in the Vaal River and elsewhere in the past month, after earlier tests in this river tested positive for cholera.
They said water samples were taken from towns along the Vaal River, while a sample was also taken in the river system.
“Dozens of people make use of this river’s water daily. AfriForum attempted to take water samples along the Vaal River in most of the towns where there are AfriForum structures, as well as in other areas where the organisation received complaints,” said the organisation.
Lambert de Klerk, manager of Environmental Affairs at AfriForum, said the purpose of taking the tests was twofold.
“Firstly, we wanted to confirm whether the drinking water of the towns located along the Vaal River is safe for human consumption, and secondly, we had to determine whether there is cholera in the river.”
“The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) will have to actively intervene, and AfriForum is prepared to help. When looking at the interim reports issued by the DWS, it is clear that the directives issued are not being obeyed. It seems that the DWS is more bark than bite, and it is time for them to start biting again,” added De Klerk.
De Klerk said that there was one issue in terms of the results that does not make sense. “Cholera was not picked up at one point in the river, but further downstream the water did test positive for cholera. AfriForum is currently talking to experts about this to determine the reason for this.”
AfriForum appealed to people who suspect their water is not suitable for human consumption to follow the necessary safety measures such as boiling water before using it.