water pollutionlatest news & developments
Cumulative strain: The Klip River flows through Soweto, Lenasia and the broader Midvaal area before joining the Vaal River, passing industrial zones, agricultural land, wetlands, protected areas and densely populated settlements. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Pollution threatens vital waterway

From stormwater and sewage to degraded wetlands, the Klip River’s decline highlights the urgent need for infrastructure repairs and ecological restoration, scientists warn

  • Sheree Bega
7 min read
Building materials lie exposed and no workers have been seen for months at the R300-million Polokwane Regional Wastewater Treatment Works project. Photos: Judas Sekwela

Sewage in the rivers as Polokwane water treatment project stalls

Polluted water is flowing into the Blood and Sand rivers

  • Eyaaz
2 min read
Senzo Mchunu. (M&G)

From water to police: Senzo Mchunu’s legacy and Pemmy Majodina’s new job

Mchunu has left big shoes that need to be filled, according to experts

  • Sheree Bega
3 min read
Water testing in Carolina. Photo by Imminent Mabuza, courtesy of WaterCAN.

Struggle for clean water continues as 14-year crisis in Mpumalanga township worsens

In 2012 the municipality was ordered to fix Carolina’s water problems, but has still not done so

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
GroundWork executive director Bobby Peek said the R200 million penalty “is probably one of the biggest fines to date of a municipality for water infringements”. File photo: Oupa Nkosi

Taxpayers to cough up Govan Mbeki Municipality’s R200 million fine

Environmental experts warn that simply fining municipalities for damaging the environment and polluting water is not sufficient to change behaviour

  • Des Erasmus
6 min read
Water activists last week “renamed” rivers and other water bodies throughout the country to highlight the dire state of water and sanitation in their areas. File photo

Residents fume over sewage-filled Bryanfern Spruit

The residents association is considering legal action against the City of Johannesburg

  • Des Erasmus
3 min read
Highly polluted reservoirs in Gauteng and the North West, including Hartbeespoort Dam, should be fenced off because of the health risks they pose to people and animals from blooms of toxic cyanobacteria. Photo: Getty Images

Seal off polluted dams to protect public health, says water expert

About 80% of the country’s dams are so enriched with nutrients they could produce toxic algal blooms

  • Sheree Bega
8 min read
An employee with the City of Tshwane collects a sample of water from a municipal tank truck in Hammanskraal on May 23, 2023, where a cholera outbreak, including surrounding areas, killed 31 people. (Photo by MICHELE SPATARI/AFP via Getty Images)

SA water woes must not be ‘exaggerated’, says Mchunu

The minister is adamant the country is not experiencing a crisis, despite about half the water in our systems being unsafe for drinking

  • Sheree Bega
8 min read