RAMATEU MONYOKOLO | SA must establish water pollution fund and enforce ‘polluter pays’ principle

Across South Africa, rivers, dams, wetlands and groundwater systems are increasingly under siege from pollution.

From untreated sewage spills and industrial discharge to mining contamination, agricultural runoff and irresponsible waste disposal, the degradation of our water resources has become one of the most urgent threats to the country’s long-term water security. In a water-scarce nation such as ours, protecting water resources is a strategic national priority.

The recently released Green Drop report by water & sanitation minister Pemmy Majodina must therefore serve as a wake-up call for urgent and decisive action. The time has come to move beyond analysing the problem and begin implementing sustainable solutions anchored in accountability, stronger enforcement and innovative financing mechanisms such as a national water pollution fund.

Water pollution in South Africa is the product of multiple, overlapping failures across the public, private and social landscape. One of the most damaging causes is failing municipal wastewater infrastructure. Ageing sewer networks, collapsing pump stations, overflowing manholes and malfunctioning wastewater treatment plants continue to discharge untreated or partially treated sewage into rivers and streams, placing communities, ecosystems and economic activity at risk.

Industrial and mining activities add another dangerous layer. Acid mine drainage from abandoned and neglected mines, industrial effluent, chemical discharge and poor waste management practices continue to introduce hazardous substances into water systems, often with long-lasting consequences. The private sector, particularly industries whose operations carry a high pollution risk, must therefore be held fully accountable. Environmental compliance cannot be treated as a peripheral obligation. It must be treated as a core responsibility.

Human behaviour at the community level is also a challenge. Illegal dumping, littering and the flushing of foreign objects and non-biodegradable waste into water and sanitation systems cause blockages, spills and infrastructure failures that ultimately contaminate rivers and streams.

Every entity that discharges effluent into rivers, dams or groundwater systems must be held accountable. All organisations whose operations generate pollution must face the full consequences of noncompliance

Communities that throw foreign objects into sewers, stormwater drains and watercourses contribute directly to pollution and to the breakdown of already strained municipal systems. Protecting water resources requires both institutional accountability and responsible citizenship.

Equally alarming is the illegal dumping of hazardous and medical waste into rivers and open spaces that drain into our watercourses. The disposal of syringes, contaminated bandages, pharmaceuticals and other medical waste into the natural environment is not only reckless and unlawful but also poses a grave threat to public health, aquatic ecosystems and downstream users. This practice must be met with severe consequences.

South Africa’s water and environmental legislation already embeds the “polluter pays” principle. This principle requires that polluters bear the cost of preventing, controlling and remedying the damage they cause. This is not only fair but also economically rational.

Pollution imposes enormous costs on society through:

• damaged ecosystems;
• unsafe drinking water;
• rising treatment costs;
• reduced agricultural productivity;
• lost livelihoods; and
• increased public health risks.

When those costs are absorbed by the public, polluters are effectively subsidised while communities pay the price. The polluter pays principle reverses this injustice.

The department of water & sanitation has rightly placed growing emphasis on this principle, calling for firmer action against municipalities, industries and other entities responsible for water pollution. This will require visible and consistent enforcement.

Every entity that discharges effluent into rivers, dams or groundwater systems must be held accountable. All organisations whose operations generate pollution must face the full consequences of noncompliance. Violations must attract meaningful penalties that deter misconduct, rather than being absorbed as a routine cost of doing business. Where pollution causes severe ecological damage or serious risks to human health, criminal and civil liability must be pursued.

Transparency is key to success

When communities can clearly see what is happening in their rivers and dams, they are empowered to demand real action and hold both public and private institutions accountable. Communities must become vigilant custodians of our rivers, wetlands and catchments by reporting pollution, challenging neglect and participating in local restoration efforts. Public participation must also go hand in hand with public education so that illegal dumping and the disposal of foreign objects into sanitation systems are actively discouraged.

Municipalities that repeatedly fail to maintain wastewater infrastructure, address sewage spills or comply with remedial directives cannot be allowed to continue without consequence. Where persistent failure occurs, corrective action must be enforced under national oversight, supported by clear deadlines, measurable outcomes and penalties for non-compliance.

There are encouraging signs that the state is beginning to act firmly. The national government has increasingly issued directives and, in some instances, initiated criminal proceedings against municipalities that have failed to address sewage pollution.

South Africa must also build a financing model that supports prevention, remediation and long-term restoration. Around the world, countries that have made progress in reducing water pollution have not relied on regulation alone. They have combined strong enforcement with economic instruments that align environmental responsibility with financial consequence.

Across Europe, wastewater discharge charges and environmental levies have long been used to incentivise pollution reduction. In the US the Superfund programme established a dedicated mechanism for cleaning up contaminated sites. In countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, water pollution charges have been used both to deter polluting behaviour and to finance river restoration. This shows that effective pollution control requires the integration of accountability and financing.

National water pollution fund

South Africa should establish a national water pollution fund as a dedicated mechanism to strengthen the implementation of the polluter pays principle. Such a fund could be financed through pollution levies on industrial effluent discharge, penalties and fines imposed on polluters, contributions from sectors with elevated pollution risk and environmental compensation payments. Crucially, the fund must be ring-fenced and dedicated exclusively to water quality protection, pollution prevention and ecosystem restoration.

If properly designed and transparently governed, the fund could become a game-changer in South Africa’s water governance architecture. It could finance the rehabilitation of polluted rivers, dams, wetlands and catchments, support targeted upgrades to municipal wastewater treatment plants and enable rapid-response interventions when major pollution incidents threaten communities and ecosystems.

If water pollution is left unchecked, it will erode economic growth, deepen inequality, undermine public health, destroy ecosystems and weaken the resilience of future generations

Importantly, catchment management agencies (CMAs) must be located squarely within the design and implementation of a water pollution fund. CMAs are responsible for supporting pollution prevention, developing catchment management strategies, monitoring water quality and quantity and facilitating stakeholder engagement at the catchment level.

The fund should provide dedicated support for CMA-led activities related to pollution prevention, water quality monitoring, catchment rehabilitation, public awareness and collaborative stakeholder interventions. Strengthening CMAs through the fund would ensure that pollution control is not only reactive but also preventative, localised and sustained.

The protection of water resources requires partnership, shared responsibility and collective vigilance:

• The public sector must lead through regulation, investment and enforcement. Municipalities must prioritise the maintenance, upgrading and proper operation of wastewater infrastructure.
• The private sector must adopt cleaner production methods, strengthen waste treatment systems and accept that pollution prevention is a non-negotiable duty, not an optional extra.
• Communities must also play their part by protecting rather than polluting the very systems on which they depend.

If water pollution is left unchecked, it will erode economic growth, deepen inequality, undermine public health, destroy ecosystems and weaken the resilience of future generations. South Africa can reverse the tide of water pollution by:

• rigorously enforcing the polluter pays principle;
• holding municipalities, communities and the private sector accountable;
• strengthening regulatory oversight;
• empowering CMAs; and
• establishing a dedicated national water pollution fund.

Protecting our water resources is an economic imperative, a public health obligation and a moral duty to future generations. If we act decisively now, we can ensure that South Africa’s water resources remain a source of life, dignity and sustainable prosperity.

• Monyokolo chairs Rand Water Board and the Association for Water & Sanitation Institutions of South Africa.