Engineers from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) are expected to start cleaning the polluted Vaal River this week.

This comes after the SANDF conducted an extensive assessment on the extent of pollution in the Vaal River System caused by raw sewage flowing into the river from defective pump stations in the Emfuleni Municipality.

Partnering with the municipality

Speaking at the Sebokeng wastewater treatment plant in the Vaal on Friday Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula noted that they have a comprehensive report that identifies the challenges in the different areas as well as the solutions to tackle them.

“Starting from Monday, the primary septic tank will be cleaned by engineers from SANDF and they will be working with the municipality,” Mapisa-Nqakula explained.

The minister pinpointed population growth, aging infrastructure, vandalism and lack of capacity as some of the reasons for the pollution.

Long-term solutions needed

SANDF’s intervention and deployment of technical teams follows an announcement by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni during his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement in October that the defence force had been called in to assist in efforts to urgently rehabilitate the Vaal River system.

With the Vaal River supplying 50% of Gauteng’s water, Mapisa-Nqakula urged that long-term solutions be identified to avoid future occurrences.

“We don’t want a situation where two to three years down the line, we find ourselves back here. We need to do something that will provide a permanent solution,” she said