RAW sewage spilling into the Great Fish River in Cradock could affect the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro’s water supply.
Water from the Great Fish River reaches Nelson Mandela Bay via the Nooitgedacht Water Treatment works. The non-functioning of the sewerage plant at Cradock’s Waste Water Treatment Works has made headlines recently. Sewage that flows into the plant is channelled untreated into the Great Fish River.
The DA’s Midlands constituency leader, Retief Odendaal, said that construction to improve the situation at the treatment plant was allegedly halted last week. “The contractor appointed by the Chris Hani District Municipality downed tools after working less than a week on the dysfunctional Cradock Waste Water Treatment.
“This is unacceptable. The livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people are at risk,” Odendaal said.
He confirmed that the DA had filed criminal charges against that municipality and the municipal manager.
However, according to Barry Martin, NMBM director for water and sanitation, the Bay’s water supply had not yet been affected.
Municipal spokesperson, Mthubanzi Mniki, said that the raw sewage spill did not affect the Bay’s water supply at this stage. However, they would monitor the situation of a possible risk. “The water and sanitation department has taken the necessary precaution and collected samples in the areas where a possible contamination may occur. We want to make 100% sure that our water is safe; hence why the samples were taken.
“However, there is no risk at this stage,” Mniki said.
The Sundays River canal scheme comprises a canal and tunnel system, which supplies the Orange River water from the Great Fish River Valley to the Sundays River Valley. Since 1992, water from the Sundays River Valley has been supplied to PE.
The connection between the Great Fish River and Nelson Mandela Bay is as follows (see graphic):
. Skoenmakers Canal links Great Fish River to Darlington Dam (formerly Lake Mentz) to improve water quality for citrus farming in the lower Sundays River Valley.
. Water from Darlington Dam and Sundays River irrigation canals flows to Scheepersvlakte Dam (main balancing dam).
. From there, water is conveyed by means of a gravity pipeline to purification works, and then pumped to another balancing dam, from where it flows to the NMB municipality’s reservoir in Motherwell.
. The Nooitgedacht Water Scheme is a last connection between Scheepersvlakte and Motherwell reservoir.
Therefore, residents in the metro could be at risk if the water from the Great Fish River in Cradock is left untreated. The acting municipal manager of the Chris Hani District, Dr Bhekisisa Mthembu, said in a media statement on June 27, that the district plans to change the aeration system to a system that will handle high influent and to accommodate the Cradock aging sewer bulk network that continuously experiences spillages.
Mthembu added, “The Cradock Waste Water Treatment works and sewer bulk will be addressed in the coming financial year as a long term strategy. An amount of R4.9 million has been budgeted in this regard to deal with these challenges in a phased approach.”
Odendaal has also written to the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, informing her of the latest developments. “The municipality has failed to deliver and render services to the residents. They had enough time to resolve this issue, which is why the DA has moved ahead with the criminal charges.”
