Factors influencing compliance with waste management licence at selected wastewater treatment plants

Abstract

Studies show that in developing countries the concentrations of pollutants discharged into water bodies are still very high; thus, several attempts have been made to address this phenomenon and eventually achieve compliance. South Africa made it mandatory for wastewater treatment plants to be licenced and thus achieve compliance in terms of the National Environment Management: Waste Act (Act no 59 of 2008). Compliance to regulations are spelt out under section 24(5) of the NEMA. This compliance is critical for wastewater entities to operate. Thus municipalities are mandated to comply with the waste management licence requirements. This study aimed to evaluate factors that influence compliance with waste management licenses in selected wastewater treatment plants in Chris Hani District Municipality. This was achieved through a combination of literature review, document analysis and semi-structured interviews with 19 municipal employees comprised of process controllers, environmental control officers, engineers, and managers. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, which is a qualitative data analysis procedure that identifies key themes in an attempt to answer research questions posed by the study. Results shows that factors affecting compliance with waste management licence by wastewater treatment plants are population growth, design capacity, discharge effluent flow, human resource factors (management, recruitment, and capacity building), site security, budget, infrastructure (ageing infrastructure, outsourcing of municipal service, lack of scheduled maintenance) and resources. Most respondents cited budget as one of the main factors impacting negatively on the ability to comply with waste management licences. This may impact on the effectiveness of the wastewater treatment plant operations.