The cause of the foul smell emanating from the Hartbeespoort Dam for several weeks was identified as a sewage spill coming from the Jukskei River in Gauteng.

The source of the massive spill was found to have come from the Leeuwkop Prison and the Northern Waterworks.

The spill fed into the Jukskei River, which feeds into the Crocodile River and directly into the bottle green coloured dam, which is situated in the Northern Province.

Residents in the town of Hartbeespoort and in some of the smaller towns that sit on the banks of the dam, such as Kosmos and the Lakeland Estate, lodged complaints about the discolouration of their water and a stink in the air. The situation was worsened after hundreds of dead fish also surfaced about two weeks ago.

The spill had a massive effect on people in the surrounding areas, Ian Dunn, chairman for the Hartbeespoort Tourism Association said.

He explained that establishments were being affected and said: “Why would you come to Hartbeespoort Dam if you see it splashed all over the news that we have sewage here? We have sewage all over the world, but this is the worst in the worst to happen to us.”

He added that water tests showed a high E. coli bacteria level in the dam’s water.

The Hennops River, which converges with the Hartbeespoort Dam, has also been contaminated for some time. Farmers along the river expressed their frustration and said that the river was once one of the cleanest in the country, but was now a bed of contamination.

Mohamed Dockrat, one of the region’s farmers, said that this year “was the worst ever”. He added that water samples indicated that toxicity levels were 1 000 times over what they should be.

Locals also said that calls to local government have resulted in very little response to remedy the stench in the area.

Although residents cannot drink the water, Dunn said that many have still gone boating despite being advised “to not swim or drink the water”.

The dam’s water is used for many different functions. Some of the main ones include supplying irrigation water to 159.76 square kilometres of farmland on which tobacco, wheat, lucerne, fruit and flowers are produced.

The dam has also become very popular vacation spot for people who live in the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Joburg Water has indicated that it is assisting with the situation and that plans are currently in place to reduce future operational failures.