The Johannesburg municipality has formed a specialist team tasked with addressing the pollution of its waterways.
City officials met on Monday for a workshop on the state of the rivers in the city where a presentation on the establishment of water quality task teams was given.
The task teams will operate across the city’s 19 water management units which oversee the two primary water catchment areas in Johannesburg.
“These task teams are designed to strengthen coordination among municipal entities, departments and external stakeholders whose operations impact water quality,” the city said.
“They serve as platforms for integrated planning, joint compliance monitoring, and the implementation of targeted, catchment-specific interventions.”
‘Targeted interventions’
The workshop was led by the environment and infrastructure services department and featured officials from Johannesburg Water, Pikitup, City Parks and Zoo and other related entities.
“[The city] is implementing a series of targeted interventions to clean, rehabilitate, and protect rivers and catchments across the city,” the city said.
Officials acknowledged that the municipality was experiencing a deterioration of water quality in rivers, dams and wetlands, due mainly to industrial waste, polluted stormwater runoffs and sewage spills.
The 19 management units monitor the Jukskei and Klip River catchments through programmes measuring microbiological and chemical indicators.
Among the targeted interventions will be addressing illegal stormwater connections, aging infrastructure such as broken sewer pipes and associated upstream pressures.
Long-term interventions include the upgrade of pump station infrastructure, installation of stormwater retention systems and the provision of permanent backup power and security facilities.
“The health of Johannesburg’s rivers is directly linked to the well-being, environmental sustainability, and future resilience of our city,” Johannesburg’s water management and biodiversity director Daniel Masemola said.
Execution key
WaterCAN’s Ferrial Adam acknowledged the positive intentions of the plan but was concerned the municipality’s financial “chaos” was an obstacle to success.
“These plans must now translate into visible, practical action on the ground, with measurable improvements in water quality, infrastructure maintenance and rapid response to pollution incidents.
“On the face of it, this is a strong and necessary step, particularly given the scale of ecological decline in Johannesburg’s rivers. We have many very good plans – it’s the execution of the plans that is disheartening,” said Adam.
While officials from all the city’s entities dealing with water and the environment, Adam lamented the absence of civil society groups.
“It is also critical that the city meaningfully connects with the many citizen science water monitors, community groups and civil society organisations already working in these catchments, as they provide real-time local intelligence, long-term monitoring data and an important bridge between residents and government.
“Effective river governance will depend not only on municipal coordination, but on open engagement, transparency and the active exchange of information with communities living alongside these polluted waterways,” Adam said.
