READ | Vaal River clean-up stand-still as community and criminals prevent work
Posted 06 March 2020
The work stoppage was implemented after employees of ERWAT – the waste water specialist company spearheading the project – were reportedly hijacked and held hostage by disgruntled community members in Sebokeng recently.
ERWAT MD, Tumelo Gopane, said the safety of ERWAT employees and locally-recruited contractor colleagues working on the Vaal project was of paramount importance.
The work stoppage was still in force at time of publication but major efforts were being made by stakeholders to resolve the matter as soon as this week, if possible.
No-one as far as could be established was injured in the hijack and hostage incident, which seems to have been sparked by demands for employment on the project by local residents.
One of the major effects of community resistance is that all progress made by ERWAT since it started work in December has now been reversed and must again be implemented from scratch at a cost of millions.
News of the work stoppage on a project of major national importance and of huge importance to the economic development of the Vaal region was greeted with great concern by organized business.
“It is really important that we get the truth out there far and wide – that holding up of the rehabilitation of the sewer infrastructure in the Vaal area is directly damaging the economic well-being of all Emfuleni’s residents,” said Rosemary Cloete-Anderson, Water and Sanitation Spokesperson of the Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC).
Gopane confirmed on inquiry this week that all work on the project had been halted until the safety of ERWAT employees and locally-recruited contractors working on the project could be guaranteed.
“The safety of our ERWAT employees and our contractor colleagues – mostly recruited from the Vaal – is our utmost priority and work has been stopped until appropriate engagement with community elements and other stakeholders has taken place to find a workable solution.
“However, we are working hard to ensure that safe conditions to resume work are restored and that we can address the concerns of the community and indeed work with them to make this crucial project succeed,” Gopane told Mooivaal Media this week.
The Vaal River Intervention Project, as it is officially know, was taken over by ERWAT in December 2019 from the SA Army and Gopane immediately committed to using local labour and skills for the project to the greatest extent possible.
Cloete-Anderson said everybody needed to know that there would be an injection of billions of Rands worth of economic investment and by implication many sustainable jobs once Emfuleni’s whole waste water system is back on track.
“The longer the rehabilitation is held up the longer we have to wait for these big infrastructure developments to materialize and the same goes for jobs,” said Cloete-Anderson.
Article source: https://vaalweekblad.com/58100/vaal-river-clean-stand-still-community-criminals-prevent-work/
READ | A clean Vaal River will boost development, says tourism association
Posted 13 February 2020
READ | South Africa: Polluted Vaal River Finally a Focus of National Government
Posted 10 February 2020
PRESS RELEASE
Minister and Parliamentary Portfolio Get their Feet Wet
The sewage crisis that has been plaguing the Vaal River system is now a focus of national Government.
On Tuesday February 4th 2020 Minister of Human Settlements Water and Sanitation Lindiwe Sisulu visited the Vaal River, travelling on a commercial cruiser from Stonehaven on Vaal to the barrage, and then on a smaller boat through Loch Vaal and up the Rietspruit, the source of much of the pollution currently plaguing the river.
On Thursday February 6 2020 the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Human Settlements Water and Sanitation also travelled on smaller boats from the Vaal Barrage to Loch Vaal and up the Rietspruit.
Both visits were hosted by the Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce and Save the Vaal Environment, entities which have been fighting for recognition of the crisis for many years.
The Minister was accompanied by the Mayors of Sedibeng and Emfuleni, members of the respective Municipal Councils and a representative of ERWAT, the entity contracted to clean up the river. This was her fourth visit to the Vaal Triangle in two weeks. It is the first time a Government Minister or members of a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee have ever travelled on the Vaal River in order to assess the damage caused by Emfuleni's failing sewage infrastructure.
The Minister described the visit as an "eye-opener." She was concerned at the proliferation of toxic blue-green algae on the surface of the water, the poor water quality and the depth of the sewage sludge which has made parts of Loch Vaal virtually unnavigable. SAVE committee member Michael Gaade pointed out to her that the pollution was due in large part to the partial or non-operation of the 44 pump stations and 3 waste water treatment works which are discharging raw or partially treated sewage into the river at numerous points. There has also been a proliferation of informal and even some formal housing in the vicinity of the Klipspruit and the Rietspruit, without any sewage infrastructure at all.
Minister Sisulu commented favourably on the partnership which has been established between members of the community, organised business, NGOs such as SAVE and the Government and ERWAT, with a view to cleaning up the river and renewing the infrastructure, thereby creating jobs and laying the foundation for further development on the Vaal. She was impressed by a scheme devised by local businesswoman Rosemary Anderson to use treated sewage water for agricultural purposes.
The Minister said that her Human Settlements portfolio was seriously hindered by the fact that the current infrastructure was not designed to carry the exponential growth of the population in urban areas. The slow pace of progress also had a direct negative impact on the construction industry, a large creator of jobs, which is also of serious concern to the Government.
Minister Sisulu said the visit had made the situation clearer to her, and she promised to put the matter before Cabinet because she understood that there were large cost implications. Her intention is to fast track township development with the correct bulk infrastructure in order to prevent a similar situation occurring again.
Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce member Rosemary Anderson said that she was impressed by the Minister's determination to understand the situation on the ground.
"We are grateful that Minister Sisulu has shown such interest which has been demonstrated by her unparalleled actions of visiting the Vaal numerous times in a matter of weeks and being the first Minister to take the time and trouble to spend many hours on the Vaal River itself, personally inspecting the quality of the water and the causes which have contributed to its current state. This brings us tremendous hope that we now have a Minister who will finally put an end to the current trajectory of the Vaal River's demise and then go on to address the similar problems plaguing many other water sources in our country."
Michael Gaade of SAVE said "The interest shown and the activity by the Minister reinforces SAVE's decision to pend the litigation against various Government entities as long as good progress is made in fixing the sewage infrastructure."
Legal framework requires strengthening for synergy and efficiency
The Portfolio Committee said in a statement that the broader solution to the problem was two-fold - improved legislative framework governing water infrastructure and dealing with operational and maintenance backlogs.
"The amendment of the two primary legislations, the Water Services Act and National Water Act, is now pressing. We are of the view that the current legal framework must be strengthened to make it more effective," Committee Chairperson Machwene Semenya said.
Directives by the Department to municipalities - the source of the pollution - were not working, the Committee said, which resulted in the need to reconsider the licensing of municipalities that were failing to run wastewater treatment plants.
"We support the Government initiative to clean up the Vaal River. We intend to motivate for further allocation of Government funding to address the situation," Ms Semenya concluded.
ENDS
Issued on behalf of Viccy Baker for the SAVE and Vaal River Intervention Project.
Article Source: https://allafrica.com/stories/202002100511.html
Reasonable progress made in dealing with polluted Vaal River - portfolio committee
07 February 2020
Members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) do some work at a water pump in Boitumelo at the Vaal River. (Deaan Vivier, Gallo Images, Netwerk24, file) (Deaan Vivier)
"The amendment of the two primary legislations, the Water Services Act and National Water Act, is now pressing to ensure synergy and efficiency between the two legal frameworks. We are of the view that the current legal framework must be strengthened to make it more effective," committee chairperson Machwene Semenya said.
READ | SANDF intervention in the Vaal comes to an end, but water department has a plan
Last year, the Department of Water and Sanitation set aside R341m for the resuscitation of all wastewater treatment infrastructure in the Vaal Triangle to prevent further pollution in the Vaal River, News24 previously reported.
Directives by the department to municipalities - the source of the pollution - were not working, the committee said, which resulted in the need to reconsider the licensing of municipalities that were failing to run wastewater treatment plants.
Deterioration of infrastructure
READ | SANDF to withdraw from Vaal River intervention project by Friday
It said it was concerned by the deterioration of infrastructure owing to both a lack of maintenance as well as adequate skills to run wastewater treatment plants.
"The justification of lack of skills can no longer be accepted as rational in an environment where the health of our people is of great concern. There must be a concerted effort to increase the skills pool from where municipalities can draw to run these wastewater treatment plants effectively," Semenya said.
The committee called for vacant critical positions to be filled swiftly within municipalities to ensure a skills transfer when the intervention ended.
Semenya said the committee agreed with the minister of cooperative governance (Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma) there was a "need to relook the funding mechanism of municipalities because the shortage of resources has a direct link to lack of operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment plants".
It concurred with Dlamini-Zuma there was a need to relook the funding mechanism of municipalities because the "shortage of resources has a direct link to a lack of operation and maintenance of the wastewater treatment plants".
More collaboration between all levels of the government was needed to reduce the "current silo approach", which the committee said exacerbated the problem.
This week, the committee conducted a site visit where it found untreated water being dumped into river streams around the Seshego and Polokwane wastewater treatment plants.
"We were informed that due to the non-functioning upstream system of the wastewater plants, it was impractical to disinfect the water and that adding chlorine might cause more chemical reactions that might be harmful. The committee instructed both the department and municipality to urgently fix the broken-down system to ensure that the water is disinfected," Semenya said.
The committee called for an integrated approach in planning, from national to local level, to ensure that plans complemented each other.
- Compiled by Tammy Petersen
READ | South Africa's sewage system collapse a 'time bomb'
Posted: 02 January 2020
Vaal River sewage crisis will get worse before it gets better
Johannesburg - On October 24 last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the Vaal River sewage problem a national crisis and authorised the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to urgently intervene because the local Emfuleni municipality (ELM) had failed.
I led a team of specialists to the Vaal the very next day. We spoke with the ELM to determine the best approach to stabilise the situation and avert the looming humanitarian crisis.
In the meanwhile we deployed our troops consisting of sappers to secure these key point installations from vandalism and theft and our specialist architects, water care engineers, Geographical Information System specialists, artisans and scientists, to refurbish and maintain the water waste management systems, protecting the integrity of the Vaal River from raw human effluent being pumped straight into it – and to safeguard the health of the hundreds of thousands of people living on both banks of the river and beyond who depend on the water, literally for their survival.
Our arrival had immediate effects; we cut the vandalism and theft of pumping instruments and electrical equipment overnight. We immediately set up an E. coli scoreboard and monitor at the headquarters of our temporary base, recording the water pollution levels every day and began work at the Sebokeng Waste Water Treatment plant, especially on the three primary settling tanks (PST). Each PST is approximately 7m deep, filled to overflowing with 3m of compacted sludge at the bottom – a situation that had existed since 2008.
We estimated at the time it would take R1.1-billion to fix the crisis, money that the Defence Force certainly doesn’t have. The plan would have involved outsourcing certain aspects of the project too because of the limited wastewater equipment within the SANDF, given our operational mandate. Although the engineers are among the army’s most highly skilled and ingenious soldiers doing everything from mine warfare to water purification – and even building military installations, we have never been expected to manage waste water on the kind of scale we were being asked to. We had limited equipment for that particular task, given the sheer scale, nothing else, but we were not deterred.
The first phase of our mission was achieved with great success, characterised by quick wins; the E. coli count dropped dramatically, we secured the installations and we successfully refurbished and recommissioned two of the three PSTs and unblocking 10km of sewer lines at Sebokeng’s Moshoeshoe Road.
We also reached out to the community in very meaningful and impactful ways; a family in Boitumelo was able to celebrate Christmas for the first time ever after we fixed the running sewers that had flowed through their house and their yard for an entire year. We built an improvised bridge across a polluted and dangerous spruit in Tshepiso, allowing the community safe passage and unhindered access, where before they put their health in harm’s way just getting to the shops.
The problem though was funding. The projected budget we drew up envisaged maintenance costs and capital expenditure. This was rightfully the preserve of the Department of Water and Sanitation and as such, this department became the funder department for the project after a steering committee of all the relevant stakeholders comprising DWS, Rand Water, the local municipalities and the other relevant government departments including the SANDF was set up in March and April this year.
In June we stopped all our refurbishment initiatives and our maintenance programmes out of respect of the DWS processes and continued with our mission which is the protection of the key point installations. Since then, there has been neither maintenance nor refurbishment and the e-coli levels into the Vaal River have spiralled upwards because the raw untreated effluent is being allowed straight into the river system’s various catchments.
Unfortunately, the situation will get worse before it gets better because there are very distinct processes that have to be followed in terms of procurement. The project will also require DWS to outsource certain functions to the Ekurhuleni Water Care Company (Erwat) as a confirmed Wastewater specialist to assist with technical skills in resolving the crisis and beyond the intervention period.
Throughout this crisis, the SANDF has learnt incredibly valuable lessons from this operation. We were given one of the biggest peacetime missions, also known as Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW), that the engineer corps in particular has ever been tasked with in its long and proud history – managing 100 mega litres of wastewater. We were up to that challenge, we believed that we could have resolved this within the year we allotted to it, and we believe that we could have used this as a benchmark to be rolled out to other struggling municipalities within our own borders and similar potential humanitarian crises elsewhere in Africa.
The SANDF has learned vitally important lessons in terms of intra-governmental department co-operation together with our troops, most of whom were drawn from the Reserve Force: 3 Field Engineer Regiment in Durban and 19 Field Regiment in Cape Town, as well as 44 Para Engineer Regiment and 35 Engineer Support Regiment, who attained critical skills in the essential service of waste water management that will stand them in good stead not just militarily but on their return to the civilian world too.
We are very proud members of a highly professional and disciplined military that faithfully operates on the tenets of mission and mandate. Our mission was given a set time frame which is due to expire soon. When we demobilise, we will do so knowing that we did everything we could – but also with the realisation that we could have done far better, but we were constrained by both the system and funding.
Should our principals wish to extend the operation, we will comply because supporting the people of this country has always been the secondary function of the SANDF after protecting the sovereignty of this country and the safety of its citizens. We also thank our chief for affording us the opportunity to serve the people of South Africa.
* Colonel Andries Mokoena Mahapa is the Officer Commanding the South African Army’s 1 Construction Regiment and the Commander of the SANDF’s Vaal River intervention task force.
Article from iol.co.za
Vaal clean-up: Eyebrows raised over Erwat appointment
Earlier this month, Water and Sanitation Minister Gugile Nkwinti announced that he had appointed the East Rand Water Care Company (Erwat), an entity of the Ekurhuleni Metro, as the implementing agent for the initial R341m Vaal sewage clean up.
“As a wastewater specialist company, Erwat will ensure that all wastewater treatment infrastructure is resuscitated to an operational state and that pollution in the Vaal River is stopped,” Nkwinti said.
But water adviser, Professor Anthony Turton, was critical of the firm’s appointment.
“Erwat is a persistent and known polluter of the Hennops River. Therefore, to now appoint them to rectify the highly complex problem in the Vaal, at great cost to the taxpayer, does not represent good value for money.”
He wondered if Nkwinti understood the complexity of the Vaal river problem, where sewage infrastructure had collapsed.
“This includes more than 40 sewage pumping stations that have seized up with solid waste, flooding the chambers and rendering the pipelines useless. In all probability, the entire pipeline network will have to be replaced because it is unclear if such blockages can be cleared without highly specialised machinery not in the possession of the state.
“It also begs the question as to why the sums of money being spent on the SANDF and Erwat deployment, collectively approaching R1 billion, are not being channelled through the normal service procurement process into the private sector.”
Rosemary Anderson, a spokesperson for waste and sanitation for the business chamber in the Vaal, agreed.
“Erwat has received, for many years, negative mention for causing sewage pollution and spillages into water sources, emanating from their region. If it was felt we were in such crisis and we needed to get an outside entity because the level of expertise was not found in the Vaal, why did we not get the best company out there, due to our dire state? One with a near blemish-free reputation, unlike Erwat?”
Maureen Stewart, of Save the Vaal Environment, said: “At this stage, we have little knowledge of Erwat’s capabilities, but will be watching progress with great interest and their ability to meet the minister’s commitment of no more sewage pollution by March 2020.”
Sputnik Ratau, spokesperson for the DWS, said Erwat was a government entity specialising in wastewater management.
“Erwat was engaged in the Vaal intervention as they have capabilities that are needed in the Vaal clean up, ie, wastewater management equipment that is critical (equipment that is much too costly to hire), laboratory services that are also needed, etc.
“With the high cost of cleaning the Vaal River, DWS had to engage all available Gauteng government agencies that can assist with the clean-up campaign in addition to the SANDF.
“The inclusion of Erwat will assist in bringing down the R1.1 billion projected cost for the clean-up. Rand Water is also involved as programme and project managers to the upgrade of the Sedibeng Regional Sewer Scheme.”
Anderson said a DWS document further detailed that 51% of the initial contract would be undertaken by the construction unit of DWS, based in Potchefstroom, 19% will be reserved for strategic partnerships such as the Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority and 30% for local labour and procurement in the Vaal.
“Why are we getting an entity like DWS’s construction unit, which is not known for its expertise - to have 51% of the contract? Skills in the Vaal are superior to those of this construction unit.”
That pollution of the Vaal has continued under the DWS for the past 15 years and “deserves serious contemplation.
“The DWS owes the Vaal big time. It has caused tremendous harm to the environment, residents, business, tourism, employment levels and our reputation.
“The very least they could do is give the forthcoming contracts a major lion’s share to the unemployed and residents and entities within the Vaal so that the Vaal 100% benefits by the funds coming in to address the crisis.”
Saturday Star
Read | Rooting out corruption in infrastructure projects
Published on April 08, 2019
In an effort to root out corruption within the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Minister Gugile Nkwinti has announced sweeping changes in the management of major infrastructure projects.
Nkwinti noted that poor management has been a problem within the department, but he is working hard to turn things around.
According to the minister, the ‘blind contracting’ of water and sanitation mega projects to service providers has cost the department between R10 and R15 billion over the past few years. The DWS is now working with law enforcement agencies to investigate corruption within the department and three senior managers have since resigned from their posts to avoid being investigated, he said.
Directive to the TCTA
In terms of Sections 74 and 103 (2) of the National Water Act, Nkwinti has issued a directive to the Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) to provide programme management services to the DWS on the following water projects:
- De-Hoop Water Project
- Mzimvubu Water Project
- Loskop Water Project
- Xhariep Bulk Water Supply
- Clanwilliam Water Project
In his directive, Nkwinti said TCTA should utilise its capabilities and resources to increasing support DWS in its infrastructure mandate that will enable the effective delivery of water and sanitation services to the public.
“The directive shall be implemented in line with all applicable laws and the new implementation Model which promotes effective utilization of the Construction Unit in the Department of Water and Sanitation South Africa DWS_RSA implementation of the managed projects and socio-economic transformation in the execution of projects,” he said.
He instructed the TCTA to develop a business plan, stating that a service level agreement will be concluded by the end of April. Once concluded, a technical task team will be established with officials from DWS, TCTA, Water Service Authorities, relevant institutions impacted by the projects and as well as provincial COGTA officials to analyse a suitable model for implementation funding for each project.
Partnering with DBSA
Nkwinti issued another directive for the DWS to follow an applicable legislative framework in formalising a relationship with Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).
The DBSA will be entrusted to perform programme management services for the following projects:
- Giyani Water Project
- Nandoni Nsami Pipeline
- Nwamitwa Dam
- Tzaneen Dam
- Polokwane (Ebenezer and Olifants)
- Vaal Gamagara Project
These announcements by the minister follow on form his budget vote speech when he introduced his turn-around strategy to improve the optimal operations of DWS. The department faces enormous challenges of inadequate capacity for effective programme planning and co-ordination, necessary for ensuring effective project preparation, roll out and delivery to specifications, on time and within budget.
Article by: http://infrastructurenews.co.za/2019/04/08/rooting-out-corruption-on-infrastructure-projects/
Read | R341m set aside to prevent pollution in the Vaal River - Water dept
Published on April 06, 2019
Ntwaagae Seleka - News24
He indicated that the allocated money will be used to train 250 youth and community members on plumbing, carpentry, brick-laying, paving and agriculture.
“SANDF will also train 2000 youth and community members to guard 44 pump stations until the completion of the project, that is projected for March 2020,” he said.
READ: R240m cash injection to fix polluted Vaal River, but it still isn't enough
Nkwinti informed the community that 120 000 Households will benefit from Module 6 of the Sebokeng Wastewater Treatment Works, a regional bulk sanitation infrastructure, which is projected to be completed by the end of May 2019. Module 7 of the project is expected to start by July 2019.
The minister also announced the establishment of the Vaal Catchment Management Agency in a bid to protect water resources in the area.
"The work of the Agency will include river monitoring, reporting on pollution incidents and dealing with polluters. The Agency is expected to also raise awareness and educate citizens on protection of the water resources and environment, local planning with citizens as well as manage the processing of water use licenses.
“The Vaal River Catchment Management Agency will ensure that water is protected, used, developed, conserved, managed and controlled in a sustainable and equitable manner," he said.
Read | Latest update on SANDF Vaal River Rehabilitation Project
Published on March 22, 2019
Article by Rosemary Anderson
The SANDF has been tasked with the rehabilitation the Vaal River System by implementing the necessary remedial action required at the Waste Water Plants (first Sebokeng, then Rietspruit and then Leeukuil) as well as the 44 pump stations. The SANDF have not been mandated for the networks (sewerage pipe networks – that remains under ELM).
In the past weeks, the SANDF, under Colonel Mahapa, has removed 21 tons of sludge within the Primary Settling Tanks (PST’s) at Sebokeng waste water treatment plants which left them either non-operational or only partially operational. Primary Settling Tanks are an important part of the waste water treatment process, ensuring that the quality of treated waste water leaving the plant and entering the Vaal River System – is acceptable. At Sebokeng there are several PST’s – Module 3 (a) and (b), Modules 4 and 5 (Modules 1 and 2 were decommissioned and removed a number of years ago). Colonel Mahapa has now instructed that Module 3 be commissioned as soon as the last blocked pipe has been opened up and then within 3 – 5 days, module 5 will be commissioned. Module 4 will then be emptied, cleaned and the functionality restored as per Modules 3 and 5.
The SANDF’s progress has been hampered by funding not being provided timeously. However a MOU between the various Government and SOE’s has now been signed – which should hopefully free up funding and allow the SANDF to execute its mandate of the three wwtw and pump stations regarding the rehabilitation of the Vaal River System with no further delay.s
The good news above (which is under the mandate of the SANDF), however needs to be read in conjunction with the rapid deterioration of the sewerage network within Emfuleni , where burst and leaking sewerage pipes are a growing daily occurrence in schools, townships, suburbs, homes, businesses, council offices and streets. The networks are not under the mandate or budget allocation of the SANDF.
Word on the outcome of a strategy session between the various government, municipal and SEO stakeholders to access funding, will hopefully be forthcoming and the plan presented to the residents to let them know there is light at the end of the tunnel of this growing deterioration of standard of health and safety of living in the Vaal.
The public are very disappointed in the lack of communication from the Communications Dept within Emfuleni and the responsible entities, regarding when leaks will be repaired. If a time scale or just daily updates were provided - this would be the common decency basic that should be afforded to residents and would go some way to help appease the outrage in the communities of having to live with sewerage infecting their homes, schools, businesses and streets.
Metsi a Lekoa (the water and waste water arm of ELM) is mandated with keeping the waste water networks within Emfuleni in a safe and environmentally acceptable condition This entity is totally underfunded and under-equipped in every possible way – as has been the case for the past decade. There needs to be national intervention to provide Metsi a lekoa with the necessary funding, staffing, equipment and vehicles to execute their mandate. It is impossible for them to do their jobs or attend to the over 60 complaints a day - with the status of this entity. They are hamstrung and operating under very difficult conditions. By province and national not funding and equipping this department – it is further adding the pollution and safety concerns of all residents. There is no point in funding the SANDF and then also not adequately funding the entity who’s primary job is sanitation in ELM.
What ideally should be done to free up funds urgently to address the dramatic health and safety violations Vaal residents are having to live in at no fault of their own - would be to declare the Vaal a disaster area – which it currently is.
The politicians do not want to do this – since it has negative ramifications for them, however it would be the right thing to do for the residents, businesses and the environment. We have formally made the authorities aware of the extent of this health and dreaded diseases risk to Vaal Residents. Government will be totally responsible should there be an outbreak of diseased caused by the proliferation of untreated sewerage permeating the living conditions of communities extending all the way from Evaton all the way down to the Vaal river.
The time for doing the right thing is now. Let is not be said, “We told you so – and you are now legally responsible for the diseases and deaths caused by your lack of action and therefore negligence. There was a way – you could have declared the Vaal a disaster area to free up funds urgently. But you failed to do so for political reasons.”
