Pollution of Kruger's Rivers
Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 3:28 pm
Richprins wrote:There was a thread about sewerage spilling into the river from Hazyview somewhere...anyway, herewith the latest from the Lowvelder:
SABIE - With a municipality unwilling or unable to sufficiently address the problems of the community it serves, this picturesque town is slowly turning into a cesspit. Noxious sewage spills plague the town, as they have done for years. Despite the severe health and environmental risks posed by open sewage, residents say most of the hazards have gone ignored and unattended by Thaba Chweu Municipality for well over a year.
Vice-chairman of the Greater Sabie Residents and Ratepayers Association,
Mr Martin van Douwe, said the issue has been around as long as he could remember. "We have been struggling with inadequate facilities and constant spills for years. What has changed lately is the total lack of concern or remedial action by our municipal officials. These days phone calls remain unanswered and sending emails is futile,"
he said. On August 3 J&J Accommodation Guest House at Harmony Hill reported a sewage spill on its premises. But this was not the first time the guest house had had sewage problems. Caretaker Queenie Brown says they have been suffering ongoing issues for most of the year. According to Van Douwe, whose property borders on that of the guest house, the municipality eventually came out on
August 22 and dug up the pipe, breaking it in the process. This hole then filled up with sewage, creating a severe stench and health hazard. The pipe was eventually repaired a month later on October 21, but the hole was not filled and remains so today. "Numerous phone calls, SMSes and emails have produced no response," he said.
The Living Waters Church in Mount Anderson recently had to source their own equipment to deal with a blockage in the sewerage line through the bottom of the churchyard after the municipality failed to resolve the problem. Pastor Phil Robson said they asked on a number of occasions for the municipality to repair it. "They came a few times with rods and fiddled around but eventually told us they didn’t have the equipment to fix it. I had to bring in a TLB so that we could do it ourselves and we eventually found a manhole that had been buried which they couldn’t find. Having found the manhole we were eventually able to clear the blockage."
There is also a massive sewage overflow on the golf course at Sabie Country Club which has gone unattended for over a year. "We stopped calling the municipality about three months ago because we just didn’t get any kind of response from them. We don’t go near the overflowing manhole, as it poses such a serious health and safety risk. It’s completely unacceptable that the municipality simply ignores the problem. I’m convinced they just don’t care," said manager Dick Claunch.
There are also huge problems in and around Ninth Avenue in town. Mr Worner Staples says they have been ongoing for the last 15 years. "Whenever it rains, hard sewage overflow runs into my yard and pushes up into my outside bath and toilet and even flows in through my back door. It then lies in the yard for three or four days and my two young children get sick," Staples said. So far this year it has happened three times. Two months ago his four-year-old dramatically lost almost 10 kg. "Every time it happens, the municipality clears the blockage with bamboo, but leaves the raw sewage in my yard.
I have brought the situation to the attention of everyone in the municipality in both Sabie and Lydenburg, without any results. I have driven places in and around Sabie where there is so much sewage that you cannot get out of your car. In many places it’s turned into an environmental catastrophe," he said.At the time of going to print Lowvelder was unable to get a comment from Thaba Chweu Municipality about the sewage crisis the town of Sabie was facing.