Members reported sewage pollution near the old show grounds in Middelburg’s industrial area. Members provided video footage and reports on the sewage pollution and passed the information to DWS.
A high volume of solids enters the system from industrial businesses, where the sewer collects. The pipe size reduces as the sewer passes the bridge, from 250mm to 200mm, causing solids to accumulate in the system. The pipe is also broken due to frequent unblocking, which does not solve the problem.
The municipality was directed to implement the following:
1. Perform jet unblocking every 2 days as a short-term measure and conduct a regular inspection to fix the broken pipe.
2. Redirect the sewer line and connect it to the nearby new 350 mm sewer pipeline. There may be a budget requirement for the connection, and collaboration may be required to address long-term measures to prevent sewer spills.
3. Rehabilitate the affected site. DWS investigated the status of sewer spills reported at the September meeting. No manholes were overflowing, but pollution in some areas poses serious risks to the water streams passing through the industrial area.
Members thanked DWS and STLM officials for quickly resolving a serious problem. However, MCCI urges businesses to check their sewage outlets for black pollution being dumped into our river system.