Eight years and counting – raw sewage pouring continuously into Butterworth river

By Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik for GroundUp

12 Aug 2024

Municipality blames illegal connections for failure of two pump stations.

Raw sewage, spilling from broken pump stations, has been flowing into the river in Butterworth, Eastern Cape, for the past eight years.

The pump stations, which are supposed to pump sewage to be treated at the wastewater treatment works, are situated near the Sikiti and Eugene informal settlements, and the pollution pouring into the Gcuwa River flows downstream to the Great Kei River.

GroundUp reported on this constant sewage spill in March 2017, following residents’ complaints about the stench. Livestock owners were worried about their cows drinking the contaminated water, saying it affects the milk.

At the time Amathole District Municipality confirmed there were two sewage pump stations spilling continuously into the Gcuwa River. They have still not been repaired.

Municipality spokesperson Sisa Mwisa said the broken pump stations could not be repaired until residents in the informal settlements stopped connecting illegally to the pump station power supply.

Phase imbalances

Mwisa said the pumps were not able to run due to the phase imbalances caused by the illegal electricity connections.

She said the Amathole District Municipality had been engaging with the Mnquma Local Municipality in which Butterworth is situated, and Eskom to try to find a way forward.

Residents GroundUp spoke to said that following heavy rains the polluted river rose and flooded their shacks. They said the water was not only polluted by the constant sewage spill, but also by illegal dump sites near the river, which were not collected by the municipality.

Sikiti informal resident Zimvo Tom said he passed the pump station every morning on his way to and from work. Tom said the flow of sewage was at its worst in the morning. He said community leaders, as well as the previous ward councillor, had reported it but it had never been fixed.

“I don’t think people report it now. We have given up because it’s been years living with it.

“What’s sad about this is that we are not the only people affected. As you know this river goes to the sea at Kei mouth. There are people who swim there. Others fish there. I’m sure that they don’t even know about this sewage leaking into this river,” said Tom.

He said that anyone could be using water from the river downstream from the sewage spill.

He showed GroundUp a few electricity poles that were installed by Eskom years ago, but the planned electrification of Sikiti, which could put an end to the illegal connections to the pump station, was never completed.

Constant stench of sewage

Sikiti resident Ntombokhanyo Maqanqa said although she had become used to the constant stench of sewage, she worried about the impact on her health.

She said there were also farmers in the nearby area and their livestock drink water from the polluted river.

“We used to have people coming here from the nearby villages to sell sour milk, very cheap, but they have stopped now. Those were the people who were worried about their cows when the journalists were here in 2017. It’s been years, I’m sure they stopped selling the milk,” she said.

In response to GroundUp, Eskom blamed the problem on “continuous vandalism” at the pump stations. “The pressure on the Eskom network due to illegal connections and electricity theft results in overloaded networks in Butterworth. This then impacts service delivery for the local and district municipalities (and causes) enormous revenue loss for Eskom.” DM

First published by GroundUp.

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Phase imbalances

Constant stench of sewage