The Platberg sewage pump station, which falls under the Mantsopa Local Municipality, has been non-operational for some time, resulting in reports of a sewage spill in the Ladybrand area.

According to the Department of Water and Sanitation this is due to requisite procedures that have to be followed in order to fix the pump station.

Responding to an article published in the New Age on Thursday the Department says a team visited the site on 12 March 2015 to verify facts about the complaints that were received on the sewage spill.

Some of the findings of the site visit include the discovery of an overflowing pump station in Platberg, as well as a water leakage next to the newly built hospital.

According to department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau the municipality is in the process of fast tracking paper work in order to get the supplier for the pump station to be fixed.

“In this regard the Department would like to highlight that its role on this issue was to monitor the compliance side,” says Ratau.

“The municipality is still responsible for operating and maintaining its infrastructure. The department also advices on the standards and procedures that have to be followed in order to maintain the pump station in a correct and operational state that ensures that the lives of people and livestock are safe, and that the environment is protected,” he adds.

“This implies therefore that the Department is still monitoring progress on the issue and to ensure the municipality’s compliance in terms of the overall protection of the water resource,” he concludes.