Emalahleni: The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has welcomed a judgment by the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court, which found the Emalahleni Local Municipality guilty of multiple environmental offences under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) and the National Water Act (NWA).
According to South African Government News Agency, the ruling follows the municipality’s repeated failure to comply with several directives and compliance notices aimed at preventing sewage spillages into water resources and the surrounding environment. A criminal case was subsequently opened to compel the municipality to halt ongoing pollution.
The court imposed a R650 million fine, with R150 million suspended for five years, on condition that the municipality does not commit further pollution-related offences during the suspension period. In a statement on Friday, the department welcomed the decision for R500 million of the fine to be allocated to the rehabilitation, urgent refurbishment, and repair of all identified dysfunctional wastewater infrastructure and operations by 2031.
Infrastructure cited in the judgment includes the Klipspruit, Riverview, Ferrobank, (including pump stations, manholes, and network systems), Naauwpoort, Thubelihle and Kriel Wastewater Treatment Works, as well as the Phola and Vilakazi sewer pump stations, along with associated pump stations, manholes and network systems. The department said the magnitude of the fine reflects the extent of the dysfunctional infrastructure that requires attention.
The department also called on the community to play its part in reducing sewer spillages by refraining from disposing of foreign objects into toilets and sewer lines. As infrastructure vandalism and theft have been identified as major contributors to the dysfunction of wastewater treatment plants and pump stations in the municipality, the department urged community members to protect public infrastructure from vandalism and theft.
The department commended ongoing interventions by the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), including the R309 million refurbishment and upgrade of the Ferrobank Wastewater Treatment Works, funded through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant. The Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) is assisting with the acceleration of this project, which aims to rehabilitate existing infrastructure and increase the plant’s capacity from 12 to 23 megalitres per day (ML/day).
The department reaffirmed its commitment to monitoring the implementation of the action plan to be submitted by the municipality to address dysfunctional infrastructure, curb sewer spillages, and prevent the pollution of water resources and the environment.