The Democratic Alliance (DA) has reported a sewerage river, that has pooled up in the veld in Bellvue, Upington, to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
The DA has formally logged a number of complaints with the Dawid Kruiper municipality, trying to get the blocked drain addressed. While a grader was recently sent to make a road through the veld, to be able to address the spill, an incident with the grader culminated in a leaking water pipe. This comes after the grader broke the roots of a Prosopis tree, which punctured the freshwater pipe.
The subsequent water leak resulted in thousands of liters of fresh water going to waste. This caused a separate freshwater river to form in the veld before it was eventually addressed, after ongoing pressure on the municipality by the DA. The sewerage spill, however, continues to flow and contaminate the environment.
This is not the only sewerage spill in the Bellvue area that the municipality has failed to prioritise. Currently, a sewerage stream is running through the local park in Bellvue.
It cannot be that delayed reactions by the municipality allows blocked drains and freshwater leaks, to develop into streams, lakes and rivers over time.
While the DA will continue reporting unrepaired leaks and spills to the municipality, this alone will not save Upington from drowning in spills. The municipality must be held accountable for its worsening failures. We have therefore reported the municipality to the SAHRC, to increase pressure on it to fulfill is basic service delivery mandate.
The DA also previously tabled a motion in Council, in response to the growing forest of water-draining Prosopis trees in the veld, particularly in the vicinity of water and sewerage systems. The puncturing of a freshwater pipe by a Prosopis tree raises a further red flag and should not be further ignored by the municipality.