Northern Cape’s Vaal River crisis in full bloom

Issued by Delmaine Christians, MP – Constituency Head of Diamond South
29 Nov 2023 in Press Statements

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has requested the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, to immediately provide details of the departments’ action plan to address the potentially lethal algae bloom detected in the Vaal River system, more specifically in the Barkly-West area.

This comes after the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) yesterday issued an urgent warning on water pollution in the Vaal River, calling on all water users, including municipalities, communities and farmers along the Vaal, especially in the Barkly-West, Windsorton and Warrenton area in Dikgatlong municipality, not to drink raw water directly from the river.

The water crisis comes amidst extreme temperatures being experienced in the Northern Cape, along with an increasing number of water shortages across municipalities in the province.

The DWS warning also comes two weeks after the DA called on Minister Mchunu to initiate an urgent response to the potentially deadly water crisis in Barkly-West, whereby growing concern was raised by community members in respect of the smelly and discoloured water in their taps and the subsequent death of a person suffering from severe diarrhea, believed to be caused by contaminated water.

Community members have expressed shock and concern at the state of the river, which developed a thick, green film overnight, like a sewage dam. The DA today inspected parts of the river. While the algae appears to be moving downstream, this does not make the water safe, does not bode well for the rest of the Vaal river system, nor does it mean that the underlying cause of pollution can be excused.

We are especially concerned by the DWS’s mere advice to the Dikgatlong municipality to tighten treatment and operational monitoring of treated drinking water quality, to increase the chlorine dosage at the treatment plant and to frequently backwash the filters. Infrastructure-related water problems have been coming on for months, and the Dikgatlong municipality has been unable to address them. The chances that it will suddenly have the capability to improve on water management and attend to the underlying causal factor of addressing the discharge of sewage to the river, is unlikely.

The DA has today referred the water crisis to the NCOP and we are insisting that water specialists be deployed to Dikgatlong municipality to assist with immediate remedial and safety measures, to ensure that residents have a sustainable supply of safe drinking water. We also expect a response on the water management strategy for the Vaal River, to ensure continued fitness-for-use of the water resources along the Vaal River.