More than 50 000 litres of sewage spews into South Africa’s rivers every second, the result of a failure to maintain infrastructure and outdated wastewater treatment plants that are unable to handle current volumes. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
More than 50 000 litres of sewage spews into South Africa’s rivers every second, the result of a failure to maintain infrastructure and outdated wastewater treatment plants that are unable to handle current volumes, according to Outa’s Water Community Action Network (WaterCAN).
WaterCAN executive manager Ferrial Adam said this makes municipalities the biggest polluter in the country, and the situation is exacerbated by vandalism of the plants, mismanagement of funds and corruption.
“And for those [wastewater plants] that have been allocated a budget to be upgraded and/or maintained, these are not quick fixes,” she said.
Water scientist Ayesha Laher, concurred, saying: “The plants in the metros can’t cope with the load because you’ve got all these illegal connections; you’ve got all these backyard dwellings and all these new houses that come on board.
“There’s a total lack of planning. In an ideal world, you’re supposed to look at the size of your wastewater plant before you approve more developments, but that is non-existent in South Africa. There isn’t that correlation between the population and what the plant was actually designed for.”
The bottom line for WaterCAN, Adam said, is that “almost 70% of our wastewater treatment works are not operating well, resulting in sewage pollution in our rivers”.
Sewage is just one indicator that there are other pathogens and harmful substances getting into rivers and streams.
“One big concern is when you use the polluted water for drinking. This requires added chemicals to clean, which could result in harmful by-products in the drinking water,” said Adam.
Goudkoppies, Bushkoppies
In the City of Johannesburg, Adam singled out the Goudkoppies wastewater treatment works in Riversdale and the nearby Bushkoppies wastewater treatment works in Eldorado Park as the worst offenders. They “leak” raw sewage into the Harringtonspruit, which runs into the Klip River and then into the Vaal River.
In August 2022, the department of water and sanitation issued a directive to the city for its failure to prevent sewage pollution from Bushkoppies.
In July 2023, WaterCAN opened a criminal complaint against the city over the ongoing pollution of the Klip River from the two plants.
Johannesburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala said both plants were routinely subjected to theft and vandalism of mechanical and electrical components, particularly copper cables and metal equipment such as screens and pumps.
Infrastructure was aged and deteriorating, and capital and operational budgets constrained “due to competing priorities,” she said.
At Bushkoppies, the entity had undertaken upgrades primarily focused on sludge management, including digesters (completed at a cost of R300 million). A project for the installation of belt presses had also been completed (R48 million).
Prioritised projects to improve effluent quality and eliminate spillages include the refurbishment and replacement of headworks equipment, estimated at R300 million and replacement of the diffused aeration system, estimated at R250 million.
“Further upgrades are planned to enhance effluent quality performance,” said Shabalala.
The city has complied with the department’s directive by submitting a comprehensive action plan detailing corrective measures, she said, and spillages at both plants have been significantly reduced. “The focus now remains on improving the quality of effluent discharge into the river.”
Adam said that in the City of Tshwane, the dysfunctional Rooiwal wastewater treatment works, linked to the cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal that killed 32 people in 2023, remains a “huge problem”.
Last week, the Special Investigating Unit announced that it had finished the first phase of its investigation into a R295 million tender that appears to have been illegally awarded to Blackhead Consulting, a company linked to state-capture implicated Edwin Sodi, for the upgrade of Rooiwal.
The resumed rehabilitation and upgrade is under way, said city spokesperson Lindela Mashigo. “The plant is currently in operation; we have not seen the increased effluent quality yet. Currently, the Capex interventions are progressing well with the actual progress of Phase 1 being at 90% versus the planned progress of 79%.
“The current phase is to refurbish the existing plant without increasing the capacity. Phases 2 and 3, which are in their early stages of planning and will require funding, will focus on upgrading the plant to full capacity.”
eThekwini municipality
Adam said the northern wastewater treatment works in eThekwini metro is a primary reason for the high levels of E coli that often lead to Durban and uMhlanga beaches being closed over safety concerns.
It is estimated that about 20 million litres of untreated sewage is discharged daily from the facility into the uMngeni River.
“Despite the city’s claims that the facility is being repaired, data collected through regular testing indicates that the massive discharges are not abating,” said Adam.
Through its analysis of the city’s own data sets, WaterCAN has “disproven” its claim that the plant only became problematic because of the Durban floods in 2022.
“According to the city’s own river quality reports, as far back as January 2020, there has been critical discharge of E coli, not only in the uMngeni River but multiple treatment works across the city network.”
The January 2020 river report and the December 2024 report showed that “the crisis has accelerated”, she said.
eThekwini metro spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the plant is treating a flow of about 30 to 40 million litres a day. “There has been an increase to the flow being treated, mainly due to repairs to pump stations and trunk pipelines that were offline. There is also some contribution due to the heavy rains the city has been receiving.”
Referring to the compliance data for the plant from October to mid-December 2024, Sisilana said: “It is clear … the plant has achieved compliance above 80% for the past three successive months. This is evidence of the maintenance work that is ongoing … to rehabilitate the plant from the severe damages it suffered due to the April and May 2022 flood disasters.”
Budgetary constraints and adhering to stringent supply chain management processes meant the work started in March/April 2024 where compliance was below 40% “but this is a significant achievement in the past six months”, said Sisilana.
“Looking at the E coli results, it is also clear from the data evidence that the plant is able to achieve zero E coli in its discharged effluent with some consistency, though the permit allows up to 1000 cfu/100ml [colony forming units]. The overall averages for all the other compliance parameters are also well within the limits.”
eThekwini is “not sure which December 2024 report WaterCAN is referring to, but northern wastewater treatment works results were compliant”, Sisalana said.
The approved budget to repair and maintain wastewater pump stations is in the region of R68 million a year, she added.
Cape Flats
Adam said that in 2023, 15 of Cape Town’s 23 sewage treatment works failed to meet microbiological or chemical compliance, or both.
“This does not include the marine outfalls at Green Point, Sea Point and Hout Bay, which do not treat the more than 32 million litres of sewage they pump into the sea daily.”
One of the “biggest and worst” sewage pollution culprits is the Cape Flats wastewater treatment works, which has failed to treat sewage to minimum standards for the past few years.
“Towards the end of 2024, reports suggested that many beaches in Cape Town were affected by sewage pollution, including Green Point, Hout Bay, Sea Point and Camps Bay,” said Adam.
The Western Cape MMC for water and sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, said increasing urbanisation, rapid population growth, ageing infrastructure, shifts in rainfall patterns and intensity, vandalism, load-shedding and environmental pressures had placed significant strain on wastewater infrastructure.
“This phenomenon is not unique to the City of Cape Town. Despite these challenges, the city remains dedicated to implementing multiple improvement plans to manage any negative impact and, where possible, enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of key wastewater treatment facilities.”
The Cape Flats wastewater treatment works experienced operational disruptions caused by specific mechanical equipment, and an external investigation is under way to determine the cause, he said.
“Once it has been completed, the necessary remedial steps will be taken to have the impacted mechanical equipment fully operational, thereby improving the biological treatment processes.”
Several rehabilitation projects have been implemented at the Cape Flats plant since 2018, including the provision of new aeration blowers; the replacement of the fine bubble aeration system in all eight bioreactors as well as refurbishment of the bioreactor civils and replacement of all bioreactor pumping and mixing equipment.
Two further projects are still to be executed to complete the refurbishment. These are the provision of new inlet works and a new mechanical sewage sludge dewatering facility.
Badroodien added that “excessive rags” — such as T-shirts, shorts and other throwaway clothing material — originating from the sewer network, have at times overwhelmed the inlet works, causing an accumulation of rags within the bioreactors over time. Six reactors have been cleaned and plans are afoot for the last two to be cleaned.
The marine outfalls at Green Point, Camps Bay and Hout Bay “discharge screened but untreated wastewater, relying on the ocean’s natural dilution and assimilation processes”, he said.
“These purpose-designed outfalls operate within their intended function and align with global practices. However, recognising public concerns, the city is actively pursuing sustainable, long-term alternatives to phase out these outfalls in the long term.”
Water and sanitation spokesperson Wisane Mavasa said the department is in the planning process to conduct the next Green Drop assessment.
In that assessment, “updated information will be assessed and reported on to provide the latest status of the wastewater treatment works within the country”.