Cape Town - OUTA has called on the provincial Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADP) and the Department of National Water and Sanitation (DWS) to act against the City for the ongoing pollution in the Milnerton Lagoon and Diep River estuary.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse’s (Outa) senior legal project manager Andrea van Heerden said it was evident that the Green Scorpions have not been able to protect the Diep River and Milnerton Lagoon from ongoing, catastrophic non-compliant discharges from the Potsdam Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW).
This she said was despite the modified directive issued against the City in January last year and a pre-directive issued by the National Department of Water and Sanitation in November last year.
She said the discharges were likely to cause irreversible damage to the Diep River ecosystem.
The Milnerton Central Residents Association recently raised concerns over the continued frequent discharge of large volumes of poorly treated effluent from the Potsdam WWTW into the Diep River over the past months.
On March 2, about 500 small dead fish were seen at the mouth of the Milnerton Lagoon.
Van Heerden said the City had not been effective with the implementation of the action steps stipulated in the modified directive, while the relevant departments were failing to impose penalties for non-compliance.
“Outa believes that the DEA and DWS as the regulatory authorities are constitutionally mandated to enforce compliance with these instruments, but have failed to do so effectively.
Water and sanitation mayco member Zahid Badroodien said work continued to achieve full compliance with the requirements, with ongoing oversight through monthly reporting to the department and public reports to local sub-councils.
“Ongoing efforts are under way to investigate and mitigate pollution sources in the catchment area, improve waste management, and combat illegal dumping in communities. Progress is further being made in terms of other ‘partially compliant’ areas.
“These include compiling a full audit on the condition of pump stations and the imminent installation of litter nets at the mouths of stormwater outlets into the Lower Diep River,” Badroodien said.
DEADP spokesperson Rudolf van Jaarsveldt said although the City has complied with the bulk of the department’s modified directive, it remained concerned about the ongoing incidents at Potsdam WWTW and the City’s response to contain the overflows within the WWTW.
“To this end, the department has requested that the City relook at the emergency contingency plans in place, and improve them to adequately respond to spillages and breakdowns at the WWTW,” said Van Jaarsveldt.
He said the department continued to monitor compliance with the modified directive and the City’s monthly reports, with special emphasis on short-term measures to prevent pollution from occurring.