Contractor appointed after 6-year legal battle to stop sewage spill
According to the Madibeng Municipality a contractor has finally been appointed to upgrade the Oukasie outfall sewer in Brits, hopefully bringing an end to a 6-year legal battle of a resident whose property is permanently flooded with sewage.
A farm owner near Oukasie has been engaged in a legal battle with the Madibeng municipality for the past six years to get them to stop municipal sewage pollution on his property, and despite court orders and even a contempt of court charge, the municipality failed to act. The Pretoria High Court ordered the municipality twice to stop the pollution and rehabilitate the resident’s property but the municipality took no action and repeatedly appealed the court orders.
Besides the high court orders, Madibeng was also placed on terms by the Department of Rural, Environment and Agriculture (READ) in 2017 and 2018. READ issued a notice to Madibeng that the sewage spillage is causing significant pollution to the environment and that it has the potential to cause significant harm to the environment and also the Oukasie community, requesting the department to investigate and if deemed necessary to proceed with steps against the municipality.
“The sewage spills had sometimes been so bad that a dam of sewage surrounded my house. We could not even go outside without walking in sewage,” the resident said. He had not been able to utilise the land or keep livestock because of the pollution.
Last week the resident discovered raw sewage from the sewer being pumped into a stream. The complaint was once again presented to Madibeng. The municipality finally responded to Kormorant’s repeated enquiries this week, saying a contractor has been appointed to upgrade the Oukasie sewer. Municipal spokesperson Tumelo Tshabalala said last month that “the old infrastructure will be changed.”