By REGINALD KANYANE

30 June 2025- The Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Sello Seitlholo said he commits to lead a sustained response to the growing infestation of invasive alien vegetation at Vaalkop Dam in Rustenburg. As part of his two-day oversight working visit from 27 to 28 June 2025, Seitlholo announced the establishment of a multi-stakeholder working group and declared his personal commitment to overseeing the complete removal of the infestation from the dam.

He further stated his intention to propose that water pollution be declared a national crisis, warning that South Africa can no longer afford to treat pollution as a localised or isolated problem. Seitlholo added that this move is necessary to unlock the urgency, coordination and resources required to protect the country’s already stressed water systems.

“I am taking personal responsibility to ensure that the infestation at Vaalkop Dam is eradicated. We cannot allow pollution and negligence to cripple our water systems any further. I will also be proposing that water pollution be declared a national crisis.

“It is time we recognise that this threat affects the health, economy, and future of our nation. The infestation, primarily caused by water hyacinth and Salvinia minima, has seriously impacted the operations of the Vaalkop Water Treatment Works, threatening water abstraction, treatment capacity, and regional water supply,” he said.

Seitlholo said it has been worsened by heavy rainfall, which carried high concentrations of nutrients from upstream sources into the dam. He said these include discharges from wastewater treatment plants, agricultural runoff, urban drainage, and pollution from informal settlements and mining activities.

“Nutrients from bottom sediment recirculation have also been added to the dam’s ecological load. The combination of historically low water levels, the presence of invasive seeds and nutrient flooding created ideal conditions for the aggressive spread of the aquatic weeds.

“We would like to issue a stern warning to municipalities that are failing to meet their wastewater management responsibilities. Let me be very clear, municipalities that continue to pollute our rivers and dams with untreated waste are directly contributing to the destruction of our water resources,” said Seitlholo.

He said this negligence will not be tolerated. Seitlholo said the department will intensify compliance monitoring and where wrongdoing is found, there will be serious consequences.

“My planned working group will bring together the Department of Water and Sanitation, Magalies Water, affected municipalities, environmental scientists and other critical partners. The group will assess the scale of the infestation, recommend both immediate and long-term interventions and oversee the implementation of recovery plans for the dam and surrounding systems.

“This initiative is part of a broader departmental effort to strengthen environmental enforcement, restore infrastructure resilience and address the growing national threat posed by pollution and invasive species,” he said.

Seitlholo said since assuming office nearly a year ago, he had led numerous oversight inspections across the country, confronting issues of water pollution and infrastructure failure head-on. He said he had consistently called for accountability and improved service delivery.

“We will soon announce a set of coordinated and strategic national interventions to tackle the pollution of South Africa’s water sources and restore the health of critical water ecosystems,” said Seitlholo.

taungdailynews@gmail.com