The perpetual and recurring raw sewage problem in Virginia has now forced the hand of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in Bloemfontein who, based on the latest information gained from a site visit, will open a further criminal case against the Matjhabeng Local Municipality.
On Monday, 21 July, a Virginia resident, Kevin Ostermeyer, was accompanied by David Thabana of the DWS offices in Bloemfontein.
Thabana is the environmental management inspector (Grade 2), and conducted a site inspection.
They visited Verona Road where there has been an acute wastewater problem for almost four years, with little or no reprieve whatsoever from the side of the Matjhabeng Local Municipality.
They also visited the site where the main sewer line from Harmony to Virginia via the footbridge is spilling raw sewage into the Sand River, which also runs long the footbridge from Harmony to Virginia.
“Only the symptoms are being addressed and not the cause. We also viewed the footbridge from the cliff, the main sewage line that runs along the foot bridge from Harmony to the Virginia Treatment Plant. The sewage main line has been damaged or burst and is spilling copious amounts of raw sewerage into the Sand River,” says Ostermeyer.
The group then proceeded to 55 Van der Stel Avenue, where the sewage inside the premises has been spilling copious amounts of raw sewage for a protracted period.
“This has just been kept in limbo as the municipality claims that the sewer on the sidewalk has collapsed but no action is forthcoming to address this intolerable situation sadly,” Ostermeyer says.
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