Richprins wrote:This from Lowvelder 15 Sept:
WHITE RIVER - While both political party representatives and ordinary residents smelt a rat when learning about a lavish overseas trip undertaken by Mbombela municipal mayor and her entourage of senior managers and councillors, visitors from foreign countries to the popular Hazyview area have to endure the obnoxious presence of raw sewage in the rivers and recreational dams next to their holiday destinations.
The situation at renowned resorts next to the Sabie River is worsening by the day because of a lack of service delivery and so-called budgetary restraints by the municipality.
After numerous previous complaints by residents and lodge owners to the municipal offices in Hazyview about raw sewage leaking into the Sabie, the Hazyview/Kiepersol Conservancy had samples of the water tested first in October 2010 and again recently. Results from both these tests proved that the water was neither fit for human consumption nor animal use because of extremely high levels of E.coli.
However, the asbestos pipes from which the raw sewage was reported to have been leaking, have still not been repaired, and solids (clearly visible on photos) flow from the broken pipes into a tributary of the Sabie.
Before it reaches the river itself, it also flows through a dam and golf course of a luxury resort - a popular destination for both local and international tourists.
After the sewage reaches the Sabie, it washes past numerous other lodges and resorts before it reaches a pump station which is supposed to furnish the rural areas surrounding Hazyview with clean water. Areas such as KaMajika Trust, Shabalala, Nyongane, Mahushu and Numbi are dependent on this water.
All the residents of these rural areas and Mkhuhlu rural settlement further downstream, solely rely on water from the river. Both those lucky enough to have water supplied to their homes and others who have to walk far distances to fetch water from the river, are obviously unaware of what they could be consuming.
A concerned inhabitant of the area says, "The original tests were done in 2010, giving the members of the water and sanitation department in Hazyview enough time to investigate and repair the faults.
We cannot allow this to happen, as there are serious diseases like cholera and dysentery which can be directly linked to the consumption of dirty water and this needs to be considered by those responsible in this department."
He also pointed out that this water runs straight through to the Kruger National Park, where the effects might not be visible to the naked eye now, but surely will be in the years to come, should these types of problems not be handled as priority.
