Msukwaligwa Local Municipality taken to task for pollution of water resources
The Middleburg High Court in Mpumalanga has reaffirmed the regulatory role played by the Department of Water and Sanitation when it found against Msukwaligwa Local Municipality on eight counts brought before the court on Wednesday, 20 September 2023.
The case relates to non-compliance by the municipality to several directives issued by the department in terms of sections 19 (3) and 53 (1) of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act no. 38 of 1998) for failure to take reasonable measures to prevent pollution of water resources and engaging in in water uses without authorization in Ermelo Waste Water Treatment Works.
This comes after the department’s Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement Unit undertook numerous investigations as far back as 2016 and subsequently issued notices and directives to the municipality. The outcomes of the investigations revealed that the Ermelo Waste Water Treatment Works was not authorized for engaging in water uses, not functioning adequately and the sewage was bypassing the process units and discharged straight into water resources, and there was poor operations and maintenance of the plant.
Delivering the court order, Judge Bruce Langa ordered the Msukwaligwa Local Municipality to:
- Immediately cease unlawful water use at the Ermelo Waste Water Treatment Plant;
- Apply for registration of water use as set out in section 21 (f and g) of the National Water Act;
- Immediately take corrective measures to stop discharge of poor-quality effluent to prevent further pollution of water resources;
- Appoint a suitably qualified environmental consultant to compile a rehabilitation plan which must include the nature and impact of pollution has had or may have on the water resources; the measures that will be implemented to remediate the impact and clear time frames;
- The rehabilitation plan must be compiled within 30 days from the date of the order of the court and submitted to the department for approval;
- The municipality must implement all remedial action contained in the rehabilitation plan within 30 days from the approval of the plan by the department;
- The municipality to compile a close out report after the completion of the rehabilitation to be submitted to the department within 14 days of completion of the rehabilitation activities;
- The costs of the application by the department are to be paid by the municipality.
Judge Langa said the Department of Water and Sanitation acted in good faith and made many reasonable efforts to make the municipality to account of its actions or non-actions, including the issuing of notices and directives.
“The Applicant in my judgement was entitled to approach the court for relief once it became clear that the Respondent was not responding to the various notices in terms if which it was directed to take certain measures to correct the issues identified repeatedly in various reports dating back as far back as 2016. In this case the Respondent clearly remained supine despite the critical problem that was raised many times by the Applicant,” said Judge Langa.
To this end, the Department of Water and Sanitation will, on Friday, 22 September 2023, issue a letter of intent to open a criminal case against Msukaligwa Local Municipality, should they fail to submit an action plan with clear time frames and budget.
The Department is pleased by this court order and hopes that it will send a strong message to other institutions and serve as a deterrence to transgress provisions of the National Water Act.
For more information, contact Wisane Mavasa, Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation on 060 561 8935/ mavasaw@dws.gov.za
