Ugu district managers charged over river contamination
Criminal charges have been laid against the managers of the Ugu District Municipality and of a water treatment plant after a sewage spill contaminated a river in Harding, in southern KwaZulu-Natal.
Afriforum says it opened the case after a farmer complained of his cattle dying and suffering miscarriages -- apparently after drinking the contaminated water from the Umzimkulwana river.
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The lobby group's Eugene van Aswegen says sewage spills are a common occurrence in the area.He says the municipality has failed the community.
"Afriforum executed various audit tests in co-operation with members of the Harding community before and after the water purification plant," said Van Aswegen.
"The results indicated a clear, unacceptable high count of E. coli, directly after the plant which indicates that the plant isn't being managed properly."
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Ugu says it will comment at a later stage.