‘Massive failure’ at sewage plant

WHILE residents are still feeling the effects of the recent water crisis in the city, another crisis is looming with the Homevale Waste Water Treatment Plant reportedly out of operation since August last year.

A helicopter flight by local journalists over the treatment plant on Thursday showed the plant was deserted with no visible activity and no evidence of any mechanical operations working at the site.

Raw sewage is also leaking into the veld from a manhole at Gogga Pump Station and is flowing under the Barkly road, forming several large dams at Platfontein.

A crusty layer has formed on the top of the water in the dam and hundreds of cows, sheep and horses can be seen drinking the sewage water.

According to images on Google Earth, the water has been flowing from Gogga Pump Station into the veld since the maps can be accessed in 2004.

The Sol Plaatje Municipality appointed Moedi Consultant Engineers in 2011 to compile a Non-Revenue Water Minimisation Feasibility Study to identify and help the municipality formulate action plans to minimise loss of revenue (due to water losses) and avoidable costs in water provision within the municipality, in the short, medium and long term.

However, many of the recommendations in the report have still not been implemented and according to insiders, inefficient processes continue to exist at the Homevale Waste Water Treatment Plant (HWWTP), which indicate that the plant is not functioning to its full capacity.

Stormwater and raw domestic wastewater both flow into the plant and are processed together. Several components that are crucial to the water treatment process are reportedly non-functional. These include a separate channel for industrial raw wastewater, one of the three primary settling tanks, the de-watering plant, the thickener tanks, the holding tanks, the digester tanks, two of the six secondary settling tanks and the chlorine room.

Among the concerns raised regarding the plant are insufficient staff, budget constraints, mechanical faults on some of the equipment and tanks and ineffective monitoring.

Concerns have also been raised regarding the municipality’s compliance with necessary legislation and the effects on the environment and on animals and water resources.

The DA Northern Cape provincial spokesperson on Agriculture, Land Reform, Rural Development and Nature Conservation, Reinette Liebenberg, stated on Friday that it appeared that sewage was flowing into the plant and was being directly diverted into Kamfers Dam, without undergoing any treatment processes.

“The plant was rebuilt at a cost of R366 million in 2016 and it appears that it has never worked optimally since then. Something is seriously wrong there. It is not acceptable that three years after it came into operation there is a massive failure at the plant,” said Liebenberg.

She pointed out further that it appeared that the technicians and the engineers at the Sol Plaatje Municipality seemed to be unaware of what the problem actually is.

“It is easy to get contractors in to fix the sewerage pipelines, but it does not seem that this is where the problem actually is.”

She added that the fact that Gogga Pump Station was also not working and that sewage was flowing into the veld, coupled with blocked and broken stormwater drains and the recent water crisis, meant that less water was flowing to Homevale and, as a result, being fed into Kamfers Dam.

“The current prediction is that the dam will dry up again by December and we will be sitting with the same crisis that we had last year.”

Liebenberg pointed out that a constant water level at Kamfers Dam was essential for the successful breeding and survival of the flamingos.

“At this stage, however, there are no signs of the flamingos preparing their nests. The inability of the municipality to properly manage the flow of both sewage and fresh water to Kamfers Dam, could mean an end to one of only four world breeding grounds for thousands of the famous lesser flamingos.”

She added that this would also have a knock-on effect on tourism and the local economy.

“This is not the first time the flamingos have been threatened by an environmental support-systems collapse. Sol Plaatje is blaming the community for vandalism and unacceptable sewerage usage. However, the municipality is silent on their own inabilities, like securing their assets, optimising debt collection and proper planning programmes.”

The DA called on the local authority to urgently attend to fixing the many sewerage and stormwater blockages to allow for the efficient and effective flow of water and sewage to Kamfers Dam via a working HWWTP and Gogga Pump Station.

Municipal spokesperson Sello Matsie confirmed that the Homevale sewage plant had been out of normal operation due to maintenance challenges which, he said, were exacerbated by vandalism.

“It is a fact that the budget is not sufficient to address all repairs and maintenance requirements, especially for the old plant. Also, staff despondency has contributed to operational challenges. Since the mass march there has been a lack of commitment among staff members, of which the media is aware.”

According to Matsie, digesters were non-operational due to low flows and silt ingress problems at PSTs, which had necessitated the regular clearing of silt.

“The staff issue is being attended to. The positions of head and foreman have been appointed and the appointees have started. Other positions have been advertised and await the conclusion of the recruitment and selection processes,” said Matsie.