Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Sello Seitlholo, has committed to take decisive and sustained action to address the growing infestation of invasive alien vegetation at Vaalkop Dam in Rustenburg in the North West province.
During a two-day oversight working visit from 27 to 28 June 2025, Seitlholo announced the establishment of a multi-stakeholder working group and committed to personally overseeing the complete removal of the infestation from the dam.
‘Eradicated’
“I am taking personal responsibility to ensure that the infestation at Vaalkop Dam is eradicated,” Seitlholo said.
The infestation, primarily caused by water hyacinth and Salvinia minima, has severely impacted the operations of the Vaalkop Water Treatment Works, posing serious threat to water abstraction, treatment capacity, and regional water supply.
The Deputy Minister attributed the explosion of invasive weeds to a combination of factors, including heavy rainfall, which carried high concentrations of nutrients from upstream sources into the dam. These include discharges from wastewater treatment plants, agricultural runoff, urban drainage, and pollution from informal settlements and mining activities.
“Nutrients from bottom sediment recirculation have also added to the dam’s ecological load. The combination of historically low water levels, the presence of invasive seeds, and nutrient flooding created ideal conditions for the aggressive spread of the aquatic weeds.
The Deputy Minister also announced his intention to formally propose that water pollution be declared a national crisis, warning that South Africa can no longer afford to treat pollution as a localised or isolated problem.
“We cannot allow pollution and negligence to cripple our water systems any further. I will also be proposing that water pollution be declared a national crisis. It is time we recognise that this threat affects the health, economy, and future of our nation,” Seitlholo said.
Declaring a national crisis, he said, is necessary to unlock the urgency, coordination, and resources required to protect South Africa’s already stressed water systems.
Warning to non-compliant municipalities
The Deputy Minister also issued a stern warning to municipalities that fail to meet their wastewater management responsibilities.
“Let me be very clear, municipalities that continue to pollute our rivers and dams with untreated waste are directly contributing to the destruction of our water resources. This negligence will not be tolerated,” Seitlholo warned.
He announced that the department will intensify compliance monitoring, and where wrongdoing is found, “there will be serious consequences.”
The Deputy Minister’s planned working group will bring together representatives from the Department of Water and Sanitation, Magalies Water, affected municipalities, environmental scientists, and other critical partners.
“The group will assess the scale of the infestation, recommend both immediate and long-term interventions, and oversee the implementation of recovery plans for the dam and surrounding systems,” Seitlholo said.
National threat
He emphasised that this initiative is part of a broader departmental effort to strengthening environmental enforcement, restoring infrastructure resilience, and addressing the growing national threat posed by pollution and invasive species.
Since assuming office nearly a year ago, Seitlholo has led numerous oversight inspections across the country, confronting issues of water pollution and infrastructure failure head-on. He has consistently called for accountability and improved service delivery.
The Deputy Minister is expected to soon announce a set of coordinated and strategic national interventions to tackle the pollution of South Africa’s water sources and restore the health of critical water ecosystems.
Can the battle against water hyacinth ever be won?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
Subscribe to The South African website’s newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
