Calls for solutions to fix pollution of Jukskei River near Alex as volunteers fight ongoing battle

A closer landfill site, a recycling depot and patrollers to deter illegal dumping of refuse are being mooted in the battle to fix pollution in the stretch of the Jukskei River near Alexandra in northern Johannesburg.

The perennial problems of refuse from households ending up in the waterways and informal homes springing up on unsuitable land are compounded by builders' rubble being dumped near the Stjwetla informal settlement. Despite being in the news previously, the problem persists. 

“Illegal dumping is huge, more than ever before. It is people from the surrounding suburbs who are dumping rubble inside the river,” said Paul Maluleke, director of Alexandra Water Warriors.

The NGO, which has been at the forefront of cleaning affected sections of the river with the help of volunteers, plans to recruit patrollers to assist them.

Maluleke said the organisation had been in talks with the City of Johannesburg and had been mandated to establish safety and security along the river with the help of the Johannesburg metro police department.

While metro police will continue to assist when required, he said: “The biggest challenge is that metro police are not there every day. Illegal dumpers sometimes come during the evening when there is no-one. We want to make sure we prevent them dumping in our area.”

They are in the process of recruiting 50 patrollers. 

“The water warriors will focus on cleaning services and patrollers will do their patrolling job.”

If illegal dumpsters are sighted, Maluleke said they would direct them to legal landfill sites. 

Maluleke said they plan to open a recycling station that will help prevent a lot of waste going into the river.

Mark McClue, CEO of Action for Responsible Management of Our Rivers, said he had been working with Maluleke on projects to keep the river clean for the past six years.

He said the biggest achievement has been that the river is seen as something that can unite residents instead of dividing them. 

“They see it as a river, a source of water and a source of the environment which they can enjoy and not a sewer, a dumping ground and a place of disaster,” he said.

McClue said residents can choose to make a positive or negative impact.

“Alexandra Water Warriors are making a positive impact. They have taken an initiative and started more initiatives from the initial clean-ups, and they are now involved in how they can solve the problem of illegal dumping,” he said.

He said Water Warriors had helped implement a litter trap project. The project involves the installation of litter traps in strategic locations along the river which capture and remove trash and debris before it can flow downstream.

Maluleke said the project was continuing. 

The challenge of illegal dumping was dire,  McClue said.

He said dumping and illegal building on the banks of the river could cause a disaster during the rainy season with flooding. 

“It is closing down the river.. A 30m to 50m stretch of the river has been closed down to about 5m wide and when the rain comes it will flood thousands of people.

“We need to work out an alternative. Where must this waste go? If you don’t provide the alternative, all they are going to do is take the illegal dumping to another part of the river,” he said.

All key stakeholders , including the Water Warriors, environmental groups and city representatives, need to work out a a solution.

Pikitup spokesperson Mzi Mkhwanazi said cleaning the river bank was the competency of City Parks and Zoo. However, City Parks referred the enquiry to the city's spokesperson. A response is awaited.

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