Government calls in armed forces to help with the Vaal River water crisis
The state aims to tackle broken infrastructure and mobilise short-term financing to resolve the sewage problem
The government has called in the armed forces to help deal with the water crisis in the Vaal River system, says finance minister Tito Mboweni. Raw sewage continues to gush into the Vaal River at various points from Vereeniging to the Vaal Barrage, despite an undertaking given in mid-July by the national and provincial governments. About 150-million litres of sewage spills into the Vaal via its Rietspruit tributary every day, says environmental group Save. The Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS), which supplies vast areas of Gauteng and the North West with drinking water, is critically important to SA, supporting about 60% of the economy. About 45% of the country’s population lives in the area supplied by water from the IVRS via purification and distribution utility Rand Water. More than a million people live in the most affected Vaal district municipality, Sedibeng, which includes Emfuleni, according to Stats SA’s 2011 census. Though updated official statistics are not available, on...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.