Vaal River – The Mail & Guardian

/ 10 September 2024

Invasive weeds cleared from Vaal River through community-government collaboration

This was achieved through a partnership involving the Vaal community, Rand Water, Rhodes University’s Centre for Biological Control, the water and sanitation department and the department of forestry, fisheries and the environment

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By Sheree Bega

The Green Guardian

/ 1 May 2024

Powerful insect army reduces water hyacinth on Hartbeespoort Dam to 2.5%

The tiny planthoppers are biological control agents and natural enemies of the world’s worst aquatic weed

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By Sheree Bega

The Green Guardian

/ 7 March 2024

State sets up task team to advise on water lettuce clogging Vaal River

The team ‘has to be in it for the long haul’ and the sewage in the water, which feeds the alien aquatic plants, must be dealt with

By Sheree Bega

The Green Guardian

/ 22 February 2024

Spraying toxic herbicide on Vaal River to rid it of water lettuce ‘is criminal’

Water specialists have said the use of glyphosate is in contravention of the National Water Act and is a risk for humans and toxic for aquatic life

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By Sheree Bega

The Green Guardian

/ 14 February 2024

Vaal River residents say water lettuce is ‘national crisis’

If allowed to pass the Vaal River Barrage, the plant has access to a journey of about 1 000km of the middle and lower Vaal river, the Bloemhof Dam and then into the Orange river

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By Sheree Bega

The Green Guardian

/ 4 July 2023

NGO wins court order against ministers to stop Vaal River sewage pollution

Senzo Mchunu must provide an affidavit in 45 court days stating what has been done to deal with the problem

By Sheree Bega

Health

/ 7 June 2023

How safe from cholera and harmful bacteria is our water?

Experts say cholera is unlikely to end up in tap water. But for how long will it be germ-free, with half of SA’s water treatment plants struggling due to load-shedding?

By Zano Kunene

The Green Guardian

/ 26 May 2023

Traces of cholera detected in Vaal River

Water expert says this does not come as a shock as there are several places where raw sewage flows into the the river

By Sheree Bega

Opinion

/ 25 May 2023

Government has known about Hammanskraal time bomb for over a decade – OUTA

The problems date back to about 2008, when large quantities of raw sewage began flowing into the Apies River from the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works in Tshwane

By Ferrial Adam and Julius Kleynhans

The Green Guardian

/ 26 September 2022

Millions in fines if Sasol is found guilty of polluting the Vaal River system

State’s charge sheet fires six counts of environmental infractions at energy giant

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By Sheree Bega

The Green Guardian

/ 26 August 2022

Sasol in the dock for environmental degradation at Secunda, polluting the Vaal River

The criminal case relates to a complaint brought by a former Sasol employee-turned-whistleblower, Ian Erasmus

By Sheree Bega

National

/ 4 June 2022

Ravaged from within, Standerton fights to get municipality working

Lekwa local municipality, which is home to Eskom’s ‘sabotaged’ Tutuka power station, faces rolling blackouts and crumbling infrastructure after governance fell to pieces

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By Sarah Smit

Article

/ 6 May 2022

Sewage still flowing into the Vaal River destroys homes, livelihoods

The Vaal River intervention project has shown some progress but most of the treatment plants are still not working

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By Sheree Bega

The Green Guardian

/ 12 January 2022

‘I want my life back and I will have justice’ – Sasol whistleblower

The department of forestry, fisheries and the environment has finalised its criminal investigation into the petrochemical company’s alleged industrial pollution of the Vaal River.

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By Sheree Bega

The Green Guardian

/ 2 October 2021

Effluent Warrenton: ‘Our town is worth saving’

Warrenton’s residents live in sewage mess and battle with chronic water delivery problems

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By Sheree Bega and M&G Data Desk

National

/ 27 May 2021

Acid mine water a rising threat

About 360 tonnes of salts are dissolved in the Vaal River system every day

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By Sheree Bega

The Green Guardian

/ 2 May 2021

Sewage poisons the Vaal River

‘We don’t just wear masks because of Covid-19 — it’s because of all this shit’

By Sheree Bega and Marcia Zali

Editorial

/ 29 April 2021

Editorial: No urgency to fix Vaal sewage crisis

As far back as 2007, a local nonprofit met with government officials to deal with the pollution crisis in Emfuleni. Residents are still waiting

By Editorial

Opinion

/ 22 April 2021

The rot and rotten goings-on in Emfuleni municipality

The council doesn’t pay its bills, residents are subjected to electricity and water outages and the Vaal River is treated like a sewer but councillors get their salaries every month

By Gail Welman

The Green Guardian

/ 27 March 2021

‘It’s absolutely terrifying to be a whistleblower in Sasol’

A criminal investigation into the petrol giant is under way based on Ian Erasmus’s evidence that the company allegedly polluted the Vaal with hazardous chemicals

By Sheree Bega

The Green Guardian

/ 19 February 2021

Government passed the buck on Vaal pollution for too long —panel

The Human Rights Commission’s report on the river’s sewage crisis reveals the lawlessness of the state

By Sheree Bega

Article

/ 20 January 2020

Lekwa municipality won’t answer questions about why children died in fire

Three children are dead. More than a dozen homes have been gutted by fires in the past six months. And, as the Mail & Guardian reported last week, all this could have been averted had the Lekwa municipality in Mpumalanga followed due process in obtaining new fire trucks. Lekwa is one of the worst-performing municipalities […]

By Athandiwe Saba

Editorial

/ 17 January 2020

Editorial: Corrupt, negligent municipalities kill

Local government has long been the site of gross mismanagement and corruption. Both of these deny people their hopes and dreams and can lead to them also losing their lives.

By Editorial