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dc.contributor.authorTempelhoff, Johann W.N.
dc.date2021
dc.date.accessioned2021-09-29T09:41:20Z
dc.date.available2021-09-29T09:41:20Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.identifier.citationTempelhoff, J.W.N. 2021. Emfuleni’s wastewater crisis, 2018-2021: The history of a Vaal sub-catchment problem. New Contree. 86:27-54, Jul. [http://dspace.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/4969]en_US
dc.identifier.issn0379-9867
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10394/37539
dc.description.abstractIn 2018 the collapse of the wastewater infrastructure of Gauteng’s Emfuleni Local Municipality was responsible for a severe fish-kill in the Vaal River Barrage. Even communities downstream of the Barrage were affected. The disaster was most evident at the riverside holiday town of Parys, tourism operations on the riverbank in the Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site and the Bloemhof Dam. Emfuleni’s crisis was the result of almost two decades of delays and underinvestment in the maintenance and upgrade of a local wastewater system earmarked for regional service delivery. Today’s Emfuleni has an illustrious history, dating back to the founding of the industrial towns of Vereeniging (1891) and Vanderbijlpark (1943). Both are situated downstream of where the Klip, Blesbokspruit and Suikerbos rivers fork into the Vaal River. Thanks to local coal mining, electricity generation and copious water supplies, industrial development thrived in the twentieth century. The 1994 demise of South Africa’s white-ruled governance system paved the way for a post-apartheid non-racial democracy. At this time there were significant changes in governance, demographics and economic development. Local population growth and the concomitant regional post-industrial development continue to have a profound impact on the Vaal River Barrage and the downstream communities. This study highlights the Integrated Vaal River system, the historical origins of today’s Emfuleni, and culminates with a discussion on the disaster of 2018 and its aftermath up until 2021.en_US
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherSchool for Basic Sciences, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, Vanderbijlparken_US
dc.subjectIntegrated Vaal River System (IVRS)en_US
dc.subjectVaal River Barrageen_US
dc.subjectEmfuleni Local Municipality (ELM)en_US
dc.subjectWastewater infrastructureen_US
dc.subjectWastewater Treatment Works (WWTW)en_US
dc.subjectSave the Vaal Environment (SAVE)en_US
dc.subjectDepartment of Water and Sanitation (DWS)en_US
dc.titleEmfuleni’s wastewater crisis, 2018-2021: The history of a Vaal sub-catchment problemen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US


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