Senekal sewage crisis: AfriForum demands action

Water tests that were commissioned by the AfriForum branch in Senekal indicated that sewage water in this town is badly polluted and therefore holds a major health risk for residents.

These tests were done after complaints from the community that raw sewage bubbles from manholes and flows down the streets. The branch already requested on 12 February 2018 during a meeting with the Setsoto Local Municipality that the problem is urgently resolved, but to date the situation is unchanged.

According to Dolf Potgieter, Deputy Chairperson and Head of Environmental Affairs at AfriForum’s Senekal branch, the biggest cause of this problem is the Municipality’s failure to maintain pumping stations, sewage networks and sewage infrastructure.

“The polluted water flows into the Sandspruit River and then ultimately into the Allemanskraal Dam. According to national legislation there are strict restrictions regarding sewage water flowing into natural water resources. The results of the water tests, however, indicate that there are among others high levels of ammonia and E. coli,” says Potgieter.

Should the Municipality not intervene urgently, the AfriForum branch will consider legal steps.