Wetland is becoming a cesspool

One of the most important wetlands, which is crucial to the quality of water supply to Gauteng, is being destroyed by poor municipal planning and ageing, dilapidated sewerage works.

The 5000ha Seekoeivlei wetland outside the small Free State town of Memel is recognised by the international Ramsar convention.

It is being contaminated by human and animal faeces, which spill into the Klip River, which in turn feeds into the wetland.

Memel is one of 26 towns in the Free State with extreme water supply issues, and the DA has asked the Human Rights Commission to investigate the Department of Local Government and Cooperation for its lack of service delivery.

Resident Bob Vorster said Memel had been struggling with drinking water supply for the past five years and the town's sewerage system had been in a state of disrepair for the past three years.

Sewage from Zamani township and a newly established informal settlement that houses about 6000 people flows into Pampoenspruit, which then flows into the Klip River.

A rubbish dump next to Pampoenspruit is also a headache. It is not fenced off. O n a windy day, garbage blows into the river.

January Sondezi, who farms on the banks of Pampoenspruit, has lost 27 of his 271 cattle in the past three years after they drank polluted water from the spruit and ate plastic from the dump.

He said his cattle we re becoming diseased and he struggles with the cost of the losses.

"If I take the cattle to the abattoir they tell me they can do nothing with the meat because the cattle have measles," he said.

Resident Jillian Appleby said there did not seem to be plans to upgrade the sewerage system, yet there wa s a move to build about 3000 low-cost houses on the town's doorstep.

"They want them to use the town's sewerage dams, but our dams cannot cope," she said.

A pipe between the two dams was blocked for months, resulting in the dams overflowing into the river, said Jaco Maritz, a biologist. The blockage was removed but then the wall of one dam collapsed, causing a further spillage.

Bruce Kannemeyer, the Phumelela municipal manager, did not reply to questions.

According to the Ramsar convention, the Seekoeivlei is the largest inland wetland on the Highveld and "has high conservation priority" as it provides water to the highly industrialised and densely populated Gauteng area.

The Switzerland-based Ramsar convention holds governments to a commitment to maintain the ecological character of their wetlands and to plan for their sustainable use.