Chronicle Editor
Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
The Environmental Managements Agency has taken Beitbridge municipality to court over perennial sewer pollution mostly in high density suburbs.
Tshitaudze Suburbs (formerly Ma Two-rooms) and Kwalu 1 (Mfelandawonye and Spirit Angels Church among others have been the hardest hit by sewer reticulation challenges where streams of sewer affluent flow in the streets and the Wamlala stream which cuts across most of the town’s high density suburbs.
The local authority has been charged for contravening sections 57, 60 and 70 of the Environmental Management Act.
EMA’s District Environmental Officer, Mrs Nomphumelelo Chigwinya said the agency has been issues orders to the municipality since 2016 over the continued pollution related to sewer.
“We are concerned with the level of pollution relating to sewer affluent,” she said. “This has been happening since 2016 and we have been issuing the Beitbridge town council with orders and in some instances they have rectified the issues.
“However, since the problem is persisting we have decided to take them to court so that they act with speed.
“We have tested specimens from the Wamlala stream and in all cases we found traces of pollution from sewer affluent.
“It has also come to our attention that houses in some of these problem areas, especially Mfelandawonye were built before the installation of proper sewer reticulation facilities”.
Mrs Chigwinya added; “So after realising that there is poor sewer gravitation around that area, we engaged land developers servicing adjacent suburbs who have agreed to divert the sewer reticulation to new main sewer trunks”.
She said the problem in Tshitaudze suburbs has become perennial and that the municipality has promised to re work the sewer lines.
Town Engineer , Douglas Siphuma said the local authority the local authority was working on addressing the challenges and that they had procured a new jetting machine which is pending delivery.
“The challenge in those suburbs is that a lot of solid ingrates and sand have strayed into the sewer line and we have procured a jetting machine to clean the lines,” sad Engineer Siphuma.
“We already have another jetting machine, but currently is broken down so we are hopeful that when we get it fixed and the second machine arrives, we will be able to attend to a number of hotspots.
“At the same time, we advise residents to avoid putting solids other than toilet papers and human excretions into the sewer reticulations. They must avoid dumping other hard solids, which are causing unnecessary blockages.
“It is advisable to dispose solid waste in bins which we are religiously collecting and disposing off professionally”.
He said the local authority was moving away from the use of sand traps and introducing sunken manholes to capture sand which is removed before it accumulates to specified levels.
Engineer Siphuma said they also intend to upgrade sewer pipes in most suburbs to accommodate the load that comes with property developments in the northern part of the town.
“We are working on upgrading sewer lines near Dulivhadzimu stadium, Busy Curvy, new service stations and the Medium Density suburbs around OJ business Centre,” he said.
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