Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
With reference to the announcement by the national Department of Water and Sanitation that it will be reintroducing the Blue Dot and Green Dot water programmes after seven years of being inactive:
Whether the Province has established any alternative initiatives in the absence of the national Blue Dot and Green Dot water programmes; if not, why not; if so, (a) what are the relevant details, (b) what are the trends indicated from reports emanating from the aforementioned alternatives and (c) what impact has the inactivity of the programmes had on the quality of water in the province?
The Province has not established an alternative initiative to the Blue Drop and Green Drop programmes due to the fact that the authorisation and regulation of wastewater treatment works (WWTW) are the direct mandate of the national Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation (DHSWS). The DHSWS has the responsibility to issue and enforce the conditions of authorisations (including licences) related to wastewater treatment in terms of the National Water Act (No 36 of 1998). Therefore, the Province has called for the re-instatement of the Blue Drop and Green Drop programme, rather than initiating a duplication of this programme. Discussions with DHSWS confirmed that the programme is being reinstated, starting with the Green Drop assessments in 2021/22, followed by the Blue Drop assessments in 2022/23.
In terms of the provincial mandate for pollution control, the Province through the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP) investigates complaints of pollution to the environment and has taken enforcement action against a number of municipalities for causing pollution to the environment.
The Department of Local Government (DLG) has assessed the WWTWs that discharge treated effluent into the Berg and Breede Rivers with the intention to assist municipalities with operational and maintenance plans so that they can improve the performance of their WWTWs. This, in turn should result in an improvement in the quality of the treated effluent being discharged and thereby reducing the negative environmental impact on water resources, and on which much of the agricultural economy depends.
