Update

GEORGE NEWS - The Garden Route Dam Action Group (Gardag) sent out a warning to local canoeists, anglers and other water sport lovers last week to be extra careful in the Kat River, as there is evidence of alarmingly high contamination levels of the water. 

The Kat River feeds into the Garden Route Dam.

Two recent samples taken by Gardag near the Eden pump station reveal an abnormally high E. coli presence - almost four times the allowed maximum for contact sport.

The Garden Route District Municipality has promised to comment, but is says it is awaiting the results of lab tests.

George Municipality responded as follows to Gardag's warning:

The following incidents were recorded and reported to authorities of interest:

Incident 1: 

The Eden Sewer pump station experienced an overflow into the Garden Route Dam on Sunday 17 July and the incident was immediately reported to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADP), Breede Gouritz Catchment Management Agency (BGCMA) and the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM).

One of the isolating valves on the delivery manifold of the sewer pump station failed, therefore the George Municipality had to cut in a new isolating valve on the sewer rising main outside the pump station to isolate the effluent inside the sewer rising main to enable the municipality to replace the isolating valve on the pump station delivery manifold.

The emergency work was completed from Saturday 23 July to the morning of 28 July at 05:30, with the most important part taking place on Wednesday night 27 July, from 08:00 to the morning of 28 July 2022 at 05:30. 

All work was completed, but the emergency has been minimised with two duty pumps available to pump sewage from the Eden pump station.

The work was completed with no incidents, and the rising main (pump-line) is currently operational with two pumps available to pump into the rising main that can now be isolated for emergency and maintenance purposes. 

The municipality constructed an emergency HDPE (high density polyethylene)-lined overflow pond system next to the sewer pump station in case of emergency overflows.

Incident 2: 

Another incident occurred on 22 August. One of the pipes on the delivery manifold of the sewer pump station failed. The emergency overflow pond system was initiated and no spillage into the dam occurred.

 The incident was reported to DEADP, BGCMA and GRDM. Remedial works to the sewer pump station were carried out on the same day. The emergency pond was cleared and cleaned.

Incident 3:

On 19 September, both sewer pumps at the Eden Sewer pump station tripped due to electrical failures, probably caused by Eskom load-shedding. The emergency overflow pond was initiated and filled before the George municipal operational team could resolve the issue. 

A limited spillage was recorded and reported to DEADP, BGCMA and GRDM.

George municipal river sampling

George Municipality takes note of the high E. coli count as a result of the three incidents listed above. Monthly river samples are taken up- and downstream of pumping stations near or next to the Kat River. 

This monitoring programme is not a legislative requirement, but was implemented by the municipality as a precautionary management measure to monitor the infrastructure, where a risk of possible pollution may occur. 

Samples are taken and tested as part of standard operating procedures. Should any trace of contamination be detected, or brought to the attention of the municipality, it is referred to the section Wastewater Collection to investigate and resolve.

This is then further communicated to the GRDM, which is the monitoring authority, BGCMA and DEADP per the protocols in the Wastewater Risk Abatement Plan of George Municipality. 

All spillage incidents are dealt with, within 24 hours, or a maximum of 48 hours, depending on the available manpower and intensity of the complaint. The municipality acts within the spillage incident protocols.

Remedial and preventative measures

Remedial measures along the Kat River stream affected by sewer blockages and sewer pump station spillages are implemented by George Municipal Sewer Operations.

Preventative measures implemented to prevent spillages in the Kat River (Eden pump station drainage area): 

* Back-up generators are in place in the event of power outages;
* Desludging periods at the WTW are scheduled to be during off-peak periods (during night flows);
* Process controllers make frequent visits to the pump station to check the pump performance;
* As part of the pump station upgrading, a new motor control centre will be installed at Eden pump station;
* Telemetry was upgraded at the pump station and linked to the Scada (supervisory control and data acquisition) system for quick response in the event of an emergency and alerts personnel to potential overflows/spillages;
* George Municipality applied for an emergency directive at DEADP to construct an HDPE-lined emergency overflow pond next to the Eden sewer pump station;
* A back-up overflow pond was constructed within the confines of the existing sewer pump station;
* Valves and pipework in the pump station were upgraded during August and September 2022.

Pressure relief plans on the gravity sewer system along the Kat River

The upgrading of the George New Water Treatment Facility entails an additional 20 megalitres of potable water treatment capacity per day.

The upgrading will also include the treatment of the sludge (WTW residual) generated by the water treatment facilities on site, relieving the stress on the main sewer gravity line along the Kat River. 

The residual from the new water treatment works is currently still discharged to the waterborne sewer system and is pumped via the Eden, Meul and Schaapkop pump stations to the Outeniqua Wastewater Treatment Works.

The 20 Ml/d upgrading of the New Water Treatment Works has commenced and includes the residual management at the plant, which will ultimately eliminate the discharging of the residual to the sewer system, thereby reducing the load on the sewer system. 

This component of the project will be completed in the second half of 2025.

Wash water from the filters at the Old Water Treatment Works is discharged into raw water balancing dams while the sludge from the sedimentation process is discharged to the waterborne sewer system and is pumped via the Eden, Meul and Schaapkop pump stations to the Outeniqua Wastewater Treatment Works. 

The upgrading of the old water treatment works is underway and will be concluded within the next nine to 10 months.

Upgrading of Eden sewer pump station

The Eden sewer pump station was the subject of an extensive sewer pump station audit conducted in 2018.

The full funding required to address the Eden sewer pump station is committed to the current five-year budget, with the first phase of the Eden sewer pump station having been completed.

The motor control centre at the Eden pump station will be addressed as part of phase 1 of the Meul sewer pump station upgrade.

George Municipality has appointed consultants for the phase 2 upgrades to the Eden pump station, with designs to commence shortly and construction likely to start during 2023/24. The municipality has replaced pipework and valves in- and outside the existing sewer pump station during the incidents listed above.

Kariba weed

Gardag previously indicated that they will embark on an alien species plant removal. George Municipality would like to thank them and the Outeniqua Canoe Club for their efforts to clean up the Kariba weed in the Kat River.

READ MORE: Cat footing it at the Kat River

'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'