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Enquiries: A Masefield
Telephone: 083 635 6247
Reference: 21/15/P/5
MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: QUESTION 1132 FOR WRITTEN REPLY
A draft reply to the above mentioned question asked by Mr G R Krumbock (DA)
is attached for your consideration.
ACTING DIRECTOR-GENERAL
DATE:
DRAFT REPLY APPROVED/AMENDED
MRS B E E MOLEWA, MP
MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
DATE:
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO 1132
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 01 APRIL 2011
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 10)
1132. Mr G R Krumbock (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental
Affairs:
(1) Whether her department has been informed of any sewage spills into
the Mooi River within the jurisdiction of the Umgungundlovu District
Municipality; if so, what is being done to curb these spills; if
not,
(2) whether her department will investigate these spills; if not, why
not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) (a) what are the results of the analysed water samples that were
taken from this river since 1 June 2010 and (b) who is responsible
for the monitoring thereof;
(4) whether (a) any (i) pre-compliance notices, (ii) directives or (iii)
criminal charges have been laid against the district municipality
for any transgressions of the National Water Act, Act 36 of 1998,
and (b) all waste water treatment plants within this district
municipality will be included in the next published edition of the
Green Drop Report; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are
the relevant details, in each case;
(5) to what extent does each waste water treatment plant within this
district municipality comply with (a) its own design capacity and
(b) effluent discharge standards? NW1255E
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REPLY:
(1) Upon notification of the sewage spills in December 2009, the
Department conducted various inspections (on 18 December 2009, 29
January 2010, 15 March 2010, 26 April 2010 and 21 June 2010) in the
area to determine the causes. The findings indicate that the
wastewater treatment works is hydraulically overloaded during periods
of rainfall due to storm water ingress and that blockages and
overflows are also occurring at the pump stations. The Department
further conducts monthly monitoring along the Mooi River and the
Umgungundlovu District Municipality is informed of the spillages on
occurrence and subsequent clean up is undertaken.
It should be noted that as part of the Departmentâs Compliance
Enforcement Protocol, public institutions are notified of their non
compliance and supported to improve processes to achieve compliance.
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and
Traditional Affairs is closely involved in implementing turn around
strategies at municipalities to address institutional shortcomings.
(2) Refer to (1) above.
-2-
(3)(a) Table 1 below reflects the results of the Mooi River
downstream of the Mooi River wastewater works:
Table 1: Water quality results
|Determinant |Units |15-Jul |
|Mooi River |3.52 |2.7 |
|Howick |6.8 |5.5 |
|Richmond |2 |0.92 |
|Camperdown |1.5 |0.02 |
|Coolair |1.5 |0.9 |
|Appelbosch |0.5 |0.08 |
(5)(b) Table 3 below reflects the percentage compliance with the
effluent discharge standards for the 12 month period which ended in
July 2010:
|Â Municipal Wastewater |Microbiological (%) |Chemical (%) |Physical (%) |
|Treatment Works | | | |
|Mooi River |45.5 |54.5 |87.5 |
|Howick |16.98 |90.18 |87.5 |
|Richmond |90 |90 |96.67 |
|Camperdown |77.8 |100 |100 |
|Coolair |90.9 |98.18 |100 |
|Appelbosch |100 |80 |100 |
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