30 September 2026
Poorly treated sewage flows directly into the Skoonspruit from Orkney Waste Water Treatment Plant. The Skoonspruit flows into the Vaal River. Photos: Ihsaan Haffejee
“I think my cattle are getting sick from this water,” said Nosi Mane, a Jouberton-based cattle herder, standing next to a sign thanking people for “not polluting the environment”.
Mane and his roughly two-dozen cattle were headed for the banks of the Skoonspruit in Matlosana, North West, just past the Klerksdorp Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) built at the entrance of the township.
Mane said he has watched the river “change” over the 40 years he has lived here.
Skoonspruit, which means “clean stream”, is ironically now a murky, foaming waterway that gives off a rotten stench.
It is also a tributary of the Vaal River, which supplies fresh water to about a third of South Africa’s population.
The City of Matlosana is currently under provincial administration, and its wastewater infrastructure has been failing for years. Sewage spills and poorly or untreated wastewater pollute the Jagspruit and Koekemoerspruit as well, which also flow to the Vaal River.
In Kanana, near Orkney, 15km south of where we met Mane, we met Richard Ndlovu sitting against a wall of a dysfunctional pump station.
Ndlovu pointed to a manhole gushing raw sewage that has eroded a pathway to the Skoonspruit, about 100 metres away. The Skoonspruit meets the Vaal River about 5km downstream.
“It has been like that for years,” said Ndlovu.
He said his church group meets near where the Jagspruit meets the Skoonspruit every Sunday, and they perform baptisms and prayers. He said the water cleanses one as it is “protected by God”.
Raw sewage overflowing from a manhole into the streets of Klerksdorp, which forms part of the City of Matlosana Local Municipality in the North West province.
The state of the Skoonspruit puts communities and farmers who use the water for irrigation at risk. Sewage can introduce harmful pathogens into water, increasing the risk of diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera. Organic matter and nutrients in wastewater can also reduce dissolved oxygen, creating areas where fish, frogs and plants cannot survive.
GroundUp conducted water tests in the Skoonspruit, downstream from the Klerksdorp and Orkney WWTWs, where poorly treated and raw sewage enters the waterway. We used citizen-science screening kits to test for coliform bacteria and E. coli.
The first test was an AquaScreen, a rapid screening test for bacteria, including coliform bacteria, which can be found naturally in the environment and in the intestines of warm-blooded animals.
If the water turns black after 36 hours, it indicates the presence of coliform bacteria; a clear or yellow result is interpreted as negative.
Our tests quickly turned a tar-like black.
Next was a Petrifilm test, which screens for E. coli and coliform bacteria. High levels of E. coli indicate faecal contamination and an increased possibility of harm.
After 72 hours, blue spots on the Petrifilm indicate E. coli. For raw water, WaterCAN’s results guidance considers more than ten combined blue and red spots an unsafe result, particularly in relation to recreational use.
The results showed large amounts of bacterial growth.
WaterCAN executive director Ferrial Adam called the results “horrifying”, especially given that some people are using the water for agriculture and recreation.
“We know that across the country pollutants such as sewage are spewing into our waterways. This is killing our river ecosystem, affecting livelihoods and a threat to people’s health,” she said.
Adam called for an urgent bacteria assessment of the river by the City of Matlosana, with the findings made public.
The Koekemoerspruit, which flows through the township of Khuma near Stilfontein in the North West province.
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), the Auditor-General (AG), Parliament and civil society have identified a much larger sanitation crisis in Matlosana, resulting from years of ageing systems, a lack of qualified personnel, inadequate budget allocations for maintenance and upgrades, vandalism and insufficient revenue.
DWS routinely audits WWTWs across the country, scoring water authorities on operational capacity, environmental performance, financial management, technical skills, and compliance with effluent and sludge standards in its Green Drop report.
A score of 90% or more is deemed excellent, while a score below 31% is rated critical and needs intervention.
In its 2025 report, Matlosana’s sewerage management received an overall score of 11.9%.
Every one of its WWTWs had regressed to a critical state, with Klerksdorp receiving a mere 8.4%, Orkney 10.7%, Stilfontein 16.5% and Hartebeesfontein 23.2%. The report flagged damaged, unmaintained or vandalised infrastructure.
Of Matlosana’s total installed design capacity of 77-million litres per day, 40-million litres was unusable.
The Klerksdorp WWTW facility is not functioning.
During a May 2026 oversight visit by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), delegate Dennis Ryder described the plant as “a crime scene”.
NCOP members raised concerns about “worsening river pollution” due to the facility being offline for over three years.
The Klerksdorp Wastewater Treatment Plant located near the township of Jouberton in the City of Matlosana Local Municipality is largely non-functional, causing raw sewage to discharge into the Skoonspruit and Vaal River system.
The Hartebeesfontein Wastewater Treatment Works in the small town of Hartebeesfontein in the North West province.
At the Hartebeesfontein plant, which has been dysfunctional since December 2025, NCOP delegates warned about untreated sewage flowing into the Vaal River via the Jagspruit.
A recent visit to the Jagspruit showed that the waterway continues to be polluted. The water foams and gives off a strong methane-like smell.
In 2022, the AG issued a material irregularity over Orkney’s continued pollution of the Skoonspruit. It referred the matter to DWS in 2025 for investigation due to the “substantial harm to the communities exposed to, and dependent on, the contaminated water resources”.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) found in its 2025 investigation that Matlosana “failed” to address reported sewer spillage challenges, and this had “violated residents’ constitutional rights”.
The SAHRC found that the municipality had failed to provide sustainable services and take reasonable measures to prevent or remedy pollution, in breach of the Constitution and the National Environmental Management Act.
Poorly treated sewage flows directly into the Skoonspruit from Orkney Waste Water Treatment Plant.
Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation Jack Bloom told GroundUp that DWS is frustrated by “building top of the range facilities that are not maintained by municipalities”.
The City’s 2024/25 annual report shows that it spent only R17.4-million of its R26.8-million budget for sanitation repairs and maintenance.
According to DWS testing, microbiological wastewater compliance has averaged 35% between January and June 2026, which indicates a failure to treat and eliminate pathogens.
Bloom is advocating for the swift passage of the Water Services Amendment Bill, which was tabled by water and sanitation minister Pemmy Majodina in October 2025 and started its public hearings in August 2026.
He cited the provisions that will take the burden of mismanagement “off of ratepayers and onto those responsible”.
Key provisions of the bill include new criminal offences established for non-compliance. Convictions can carry up to R10-million in fines, ten years’ imprisonment or both. Officials can be held personally liable for offences committed by their entity or municipality if they had knowledge of the issue and failed to take reasonable preventive action.
The City of Matlosana did not respond by the time of publication. Comment will be added.
An overflowing pump station near Orkney pollutes the Skoonspruit.
The council building for the City of Matlosana Local Municipality in Klerksdorp in the North West province.
