Vaal River passing Vereeninging |
This committee deals with different interventions within the Vaal River Systems, and the strategies that are being implemented are as following:
- Integrated Water Quality Management,
- Water use compliance and enforcement (eradication of illegal irrigation water use) in the Vaal River System,
- Gauteng Municipalities Water Conservation and Water Demand Management,
- The classification of significant water resources in the Upper, Middle and lower Vaal water management areas.
For the first time we have seen DWA taking the issue of enforcement and compliance very seriously. The eradication of illegal irrigation has received a special attention from the Minister of Water Affairs, she has made it clear that the farmers that steals water from the Vaal river they will be dealt with harshly, she even took a special visit to one farmer and took out his irrigation pumps. We welcome these and it is shown from the reports that if the illegal irrigations are not dealt with accordingly the future of water supply in Gauteng will be compromised by these activities of illegal use.The are 8525 properties that are irrigating in the entire Vaal River System 1202 are unlawful users, 1361 verification completed, verification not started 3 927, validated completed 6900, validation in process 1894.
Irrigation's next to Vaal River |
The biggest problem that is facing the Vaal
River System is the Water Quality in the Upper, Middle and Lower Vaal, these
problems comes from different pollution sources such as untreated sewage from
non-functioning municipal Waste Water Treatment Works, industrial effluents,
Acid Mine Drainage and other activities that are happening within the Vaal
River System. Department has received complains from communities and civil
society groups complaining about the continuity of pollution within Vaal River System that is causing health
hazards.
If you think of people of Tumahole in Parys
that do not have clean drinking water because of the pollution and the failer
of local municipality to purify water for drinking purposes, and we have not
seen the Minister of Water Affairs taking a strong stand against the municipalities
that discharge the row sewage in the Vaal River System. The question is why DWA
have not yet take a single approach in dealing with the threat in the Vaal
System. In numerous occasions the civil
society has question DWA on the mining companies that are mushrooming with in
the Vaal River System operating without Water Use licences, and municipalities
that does not comply with the Water use licences and no actions has been takes
against them,
From the DWA the issue of compliance and enforcement
is receiving attention within regional offices and the Project Letsema has been
well publish but the numbers has not got
out to civil society and concerned citizens. We hope that the minister will
visit these mines and close them down and visit municipalities like Ngwathe in
Northern Free State and deal with officials that do not care for the poor who
are still struggling to get access to clean drinking water and sanitation
because of pollution and Mal-administration within government.
Algae at Vaal Barrage |
We hope that the Integrated Water Quality
Management Strategy will receive the attention like Gauteng Municipalities
Water Conservation and Demand Management Strategy and other strategies within
DWA. we hope that we will get a report back from DWA on Letsema Project to fast
track the issue of water use licenses so that all who contravene the low like
the unlawful irrigation users can be punished. As Citizens also want our rights
to be protected and our dignity be restored and we hope that the minister will
treat water as a common not as a commodity that must be trade on for the one section
of society at the expenses of the majority.
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ReplyDeleteSindh irrigated Agriculture