A stream of raw sewage flows from a leak just outside the Standerton wastewater treatment works perimeter fence, directly into the Vaal River visible in the background. The Vaal is the source of drinking water for South Africa’s most populous province, Gauteng, which is the country’s economic hub. Photo by Steve Kretzmann
 

Communities Turned into Sewage Swamps

This investigation was produced in collaboration with the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism and OpenUp, with the support of the Open Society Foundation.

A version of this article was first published by GroundUp.
 

Johan Lotter and his parents moved into numbers 2 and 2A Johann Street in Standerton 15 years ago, planning to spend the rest of their lives there.

Located in a cul-de-sac on the banks of the Vaal River, it seemed ideal for Johan, who had taken an early retirement after the family plumbing business down-sized. He had planned to look after his aging parents and spend more time enjoying two of his favorite hobbies, gardening and baking. But for the past three years gardening has been out of the question, and baking is much less appetizing, as both properties have been flooded with sewage.

Johan said the sewer line started to get blocked on a regular basis from 2009. It gradually became more frequent until the overflow became permanent in late 2018, with sewage engulfing their yards.

Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue
 

What’s Up With Water — October 18, 2022

Tune into What's Up With Water for your need to know news of the world's water on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and SoundCloud.

Featured coverage from this week's episode of What's Up With Water looks at:

• In Syria, a major cholera outbreak that began in the northern regions has now spread across the country. According to the World Health Organization, since the end of August over 13,000 cases of the waterborne pathogen have been recorded.

• In research news, a new report details a steep decline in the abundance of the world’s animals. According to the Living Planet Report, since 1970 the average species has seen its population drop by 69 percent. The losses are due to poaching, pollution, and the conversion of habitat into farmland and pavement. In human terms, that’s the equivalent of seven out of 10 people vanishing from each city.

• Moving away from fossil fuels is the only way to prevent the planet from dangerously overheating, but the transition will not be easy. One complicating factor is water. Lack of water doomed plans for a proposed hydrogen production facility in Australia that were shelved in May. It may not be the only such facility to meet that fate.

A critically failing sewage works in Springbok in the Northern Cape is one of 334 in the country which obtained a Green Drop score of 30% or less. The cause of the failure was not investigated but is typical of broader municipal service failures. Photo © Steve Kretzmann / CCIJ

‘A Tsunami of Human Waste’: Half of South Africa’s Sewage Treatment Works Are Failing, Says Report

When he was 13 years old, Rudy Hanse joined the guppy development program offered by the Milnerton Canoe Club in Cape Town. There he learned how to paddle a canoe and swim.

Later, he took up a lifeguarding course, while continuing to paddle at the club and training with other members for the grueling Berg River Canoe Marathon. As a result, Hanse was able to extract himself from the poverty and joblessness that permeates Dunoon and begin earning a decent income in guest services in the United Arab Emirates. “If it wasn’t for [that training course], I wouldn’t be where I am today,” he said.

This opportunity was available because the Milnerton Lagoon was clean enough to swim in. That is no longer the case. For years, the water has been too polluted by sewage to risk children being exposed to it, and the canoe club had to close down its guppy development program about eight years ago.