Update
GEORGE NEWS - A main sewer line collapsed in the vicinity of Aandblom Avenue last week, causing a sewage spill into the Kat River which feeds the Garden Route Dam.
George municipal communications head Chantèl Edwards said the spill was brought to the municipality's attention on the evening of Wednesday 25 October, and they responded immediately.
"It is the main sewer line gravitating to the Eden sewage pump station that collapsed as a result of the weekend's flooding event," she said.
Municipal engineers, contractors and the Depart-ment of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADP) met on the site the next morning. The break was within reach of the riverbed which meant that interim, verbal approval had to be obtained from Environmental Affairs to proceed with emergency repair work.
"Temporary and permanent options are in place to remedy the problem," said Edwards.
The municipality has submitted a Section 30A (urgent) application to DEADP to enable the restoration work.
High nitrite and nitrate levels
The Garden Route Dam Action Group (Gardag) in its September monthly water monitoring report writes that it has noticed an increase in nitrite and nitrate in water in the Kat River and Garden Route Dam.
"This points to increased pollution of the water in the dam. These nutrients enter the dam via the Kat River, which is polluted by urban runoff as well as frequent spills from the Eden sewage pump station," reports Gardag.
The report says the Kat River, "once again" contains levels of E coli bacteria beyond the safety levels for recreation. "The troublesome fact is that the entire Kat River contains high levels of these bacteria, showing the negative impact that residential development has on freshwater ecosystems. George Municipality and Garden Route District Municipality refuse to share their monitoring results with Gardag to compare the results of the three sampling methods.
George Municipality referred Gardag to the Garden Route District Municipality, as they use an accredited lab, despite Gardag having submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act application to George Municipality for water monitoring results," reads the report.
The group says it has raised numerous concerns to the municipality over the quality of the sewer pipeline along the Kat River, "which has caused several pollution events that continue to pollute the dam water."
'Sewage designed overflows' is planning for disaster
Gardag writes that it participated in the impact assessment process for the upgrade of the Eden Pump Station, but none of their concerns were addressed. "The pipeline upgrade was not included in the application, while the planned emergency sewage tank and underground fuel tank both have designed overflows into the dam.
"This equates to planning for a disaster."
The report was submitted to both George Municipality and Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) and their comment is being awaited. GRDM's communications department said they would be commenting later this week once their water test results have been received.
George Municipality in previous comments regarding the water pollution issue said that it regularly tests surrounding rivers in the George municipal area where its infrastructure is placed, although this is not a legislative requirement. In this way it monitors pollution or degradation, "if and when it occurs, and for reporting purposes to the relevant authorities". The municipality reports spillage incidents to the relevant authorities, Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, and the Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency (BGCMA).
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