Voëlpan Dam becomes ‘stinkpan’ of despair after failed actions
The dam, which locals referred to as 'stinkpan', was used by mines for water management but has since degenerated into a source of distress.
Voëlpan Dam, a central feature in the mining and wastewater infrastructure of the Free State's Nyakallong region, has long been known as "stinkpan" due to the pollution and flooding it has caused. Despite numerous attempts to address the crisis, the dam continues to be a source of distress for residents. Legal actions have been taken against mining company Harmony, with the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein recording water discharge from Harmony's Target Operations into the dam since 2019.
The department of water and sanitation investigated the matter after receiving a complaint in September 2022, and issued a directive on 30 March 2023 requiring measures to address the discharge, including a rehabilitation plan. Harmony challenged the directive, leading to a court suspension pending further legal proceedings. The dam's issues are compounded by a long-standing municipal sanitation crisis, with Matjhabeng local municipality's sewage infrastructure failing to function properly.
The non-operational, flooded, and vandalised Voëlpan sewer pump station has been discharging sewage into the dam, affecting the Allanridge and Nyakallong communities. A tender has been issued for the refurbishment of the Nyakallong/Allanridge wastewater treatment works, which is expected to treat wastewater from the affected areas before discharging it into Voëlpan.
However, locals remain skeptical of promises made in the past and await the completion of the refurbishment project, scheduled to be finalized after the November local elections.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
