Water pollution negatively impacting Mogale City businesses

JOHANNESBURG - Businesses in Mogale City that rely on tourist attractions like the city’s rivers to draw visitors are suffering as water pollution intensifies in the area.

The West Rand municipality said that only 12 out of 24 wastewater pump stations were currently operating optimally.

This has led to large deposits of sewage waste leaking onto the city’s rivers.

The contaminated Bloubankspruit River runs across several businesses in Muldersdrift, most of which were built around the river’s natural beauty.

However, the river’s water is now black, with no marine life and a foul stench emanating from it.

Director at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site Association, Trevor Brough, said that businesses had been negatively impacted.

"For example, the lodge where the wedding chapel is at the confluence of the rivers, they can’t use that wedding chapel anymore because of the constant smell. The same thing goes for all other places."

The Mogale City Municipality has formed a task team involving the Gauteng and the national government to resolve the issue of water pollution.