The City of Tshwane is aware of the reported black coloured water spillage into the Hennopsriver. The City has investigated the matter and findings indicate that the black water originated from upstream of the Sunderland Ridge Waste Water Treatment Works [WWTW] in the Centurion area. The findings in fact reveal that the pollution originated from outside the boundaries of the City of Tshwane and most likely from the Olifantsfontein WWTW which falls under the Ekhuruleni Metropolitan Municipality.
As such we will engage our colleagues in Ekhuruleni on the way forward to resolving the problem. The MMC for Utility Services has already approached the national Department of Water and Sanitation about this occurrence.
The Sunderland Ridge WWTW has experienced a huge number of cable theft incidents in the last couple of months. The cable theft incidents affect the operations of the Sunderland Ridge WWTW negatively which in turn has an impact on the Hennops river with respect to pollution.
However none of the incidents were a direct cause of the black water spillage.
The matter has since been escalated to the Pollution Control and Environmental Management Services of the City and is receiving our undivided attention.