South Africa: Eight Years and Counting

Municipality blames illegal connections for pump station failure

• In 2017, it was reported that sewage was spilling into the Gcuwa River from a non-functioning pump station.
• The pump station is yet to be fixed.
• The municipality says the pump station cannot work due to illegal electricity connections from a nearby informal settlement.

Raw sewage, spilling from broken pump stations, has been flowing into the river in Butterworth, Eastern Cape, for the last eight years.

The pump stations, which are supposed to pump sewage to be treated at the wastewater treatment works, are situated near the Sikiti and Eugene informal settlements, and the pollution pouring into the Gcuwa River flows downstream to the Great Kei River.

GroundUp reported on this constant sewage spill in March 2017, following residents’ complaints about the stench. Livestock owners were worried about their cows drinking the contaminated water, saying it affects the milk.

At the time Amathole District Municipality confirmed there were two sewage pump stations spilling continuously into the Gcuwa River. They are still not repaired.

Amathole District Municipality (ADM) spokesperson Sisa Mwisa said the broken pump stations cannot be repaired until residents in the informal settlements stop connecting illegally to the pump station power supply.

Mwisa said the pumps are not able to run due to the phase imbalances caused by the illegal electricity connections.

She said the ADM has been engaging with the Mnquma Local Municipality in which Butterworth is situated, and Eskom to try find a way forward.

Residents GroundUp spoke to said following heavy rains the polluted river rises and floods into their shacks. They say the water is not only polluted by the constant sewage spill, but also by illegal dump sites near the river, which are not collected by the municipality.

Sikiti informal resident Zimvo Tom said he passes the pump station every morning to and from work. Tom said the flow of sewage was worst in the morning. He said community leaders, as well as the previous ward councillor, used to report it but it has never been fixed.

“I don’t think people report it now. We have given up because it’s been years living with it.

“What’s sad about this is that we are not the only people affected. As you know this river goes to the sea at Kei mouth. There are people who swim there. Others fish there. I’m sure that they don’t even know about this sewage leaking into this river,” said Tom.

He said anyone could be using water from the river downstream from the sewage spill.

He showed GroundUp a few electricity poles that were installed by Eskom years ago, but the planned electrification of Sikiti, which could put an end to the illegal connections to the pump station, was never completed.

Sikiti resident Ntombokhanyo Maqanqa said although she had become used to the constant stench of sewage, she worried about the impact on her health.

She said there are also farmers in the nearby area and their livestock drink water from the polluted river.

“We used to have people coming here from the nearby villages to sell sour milk, very cheap, but they have stopped now. Those were the people who were worried about their cows when the journalists were here in 2017. It’s been years, I’m sure they stopped selling the milk,” she said.

Eskom in response to GroundUp blamed the problem on “continuous vandalism” at the pump stations. “The pressure on the Eskom network due to illegal connections and electricity theft results in overloaded networks in Butterworth. This then impacts service delivery for the local and district municipalities [and causes] enormous revenue loss for Eskom.”