Elisenheim: Nearly 300 sign petition against Ujams
By Tuesday afternoon, about 300 Elisenheim residents had signed an online petition against Ujams Sewage Works on allegations that they are discharging raw sewage into the Klein Windhoek River near the Elisenheim estate outside Windhoek.
Titled 'Stop Ujams Sewage Works from Polluting Our River', the petition states: “Join us in demanding immediate action to stop Ujams Sewage Works from discharging raw sewage into our river. Sign this petition to protect our health, preserve our environment and restore the quality of life in Elisenheim!"
This follows complaints from estate residents at the beginning of the month about the smell of sewage – a recurring issue over the past few years.
"Our river is polluted with contaminants that harm wildlife and degrade the environment. We cannot stand by while this continues to happen in our backyard," the petition states.
Bad odours
Le-Hugo van Rooyen, the CEO of Trustco Properties, confirmed to Namibian Sun's sister publication Republikein last week that the odour is caused by the alleged sewage dumping by the plant and stated that the issue was reported to the Windhoek municipality some time ago.
According to the petition, the raw sewage being dumped into the river causes a terrible smell around Elisenheim. "I am tired of the foul odours lingering here. It is not pleasant to be here at all," said one of the residents.
The petition argues that this is not only a health risk but also harmful to the environment. "The untreated waste pollutes our water, posing threats of waterborne diseases to the community and damaging local ecosystems," the petition states.
Untreated sewage
Ujams Sewage Works was appointed by the Windhoek municipality to manage the plant near Elisenheim.
The municipality's spokesperson, Lydia Amutenya, acknowledged at the time that the plant sometimes receives sewage volumes that exceed its design capacity. "This can lead to the activation of rain mode protocols to manage the increased flow," Amutenya said.
According to sources, during 'rain mode', sewage water is discharged into the river that is not fully treated. It is reportedly only treated through fine screens and grit removal, and this partially treated water is then discharged into the river along with the fully treated water.
Ujams challenges
In an email seen by Republikein, written by the general manager of Ujams Wastewater Treatment Company (UWTC), Thomas Honer, and sent to the municipality on 24 May, he explained that during the design phase of the plant, the municipality decided to build a "dry weather buffer tank and not a wet weather buffer tank with more buffer capacity."
The decision was allegedly made to save costs. According to Honer, the plant has been experiencing power outages since November 2014, which appears to be just one of the several challenges the UWTC team is facing at the plant. "The problems with electricity supply have been mentioned several times, and eventually, a portion of the supply cable was replaced, and since then, the power and supply problems are being sorted out."
"The cause of this problem was beyond the responsibility of UWTC," reads Honer's email.
Honer further explained that incidents in the past were caused by external factors beyond the control of the team on-site. These incidents allegedly included fires/smouldering, dumping of waste by third parties into the old dams and other issues.
– [email protected]
Titled 'Stop Ujams Sewage Works from Polluting Our River', the petition states: “Join us in demanding immediate action to stop Ujams Sewage Works from discharging raw sewage into our river. Sign this petition to protect our health, preserve our environment and restore the quality of life in Elisenheim!"
This follows complaints from estate residents at the beginning of the month about the smell of sewage – a recurring issue over the past few years.
"Our river is polluted with contaminants that harm wildlife and degrade the environment. We cannot stand by while this continues to happen in our backyard," the petition states.
Bad odours
Le-Hugo van Rooyen, the CEO of Trustco Properties, confirmed to Namibian Sun's sister publication Republikein last week that the odour is caused by the alleged sewage dumping by the plant and stated that the issue was reported to the Windhoek municipality some time ago.
According to the petition, the raw sewage being dumped into the river causes a terrible smell around Elisenheim. "I am tired of the foul odours lingering here. It is not pleasant to be here at all," said one of the residents.
The petition argues that this is not only a health risk but also harmful to the environment. "The untreated waste pollutes our water, posing threats of waterborne diseases to the community and damaging local ecosystems," the petition states.
Untreated sewage
Ujams Sewage Works was appointed by the Windhoek municipality to manage the plant near Elisenheim.
The municipality's spokesperson, Lydia Amutenya, acknowledged at the time that the plant sometimes receives sewage volumes that exceed its design capacity. "This can lead to the activation of rain mode protocols to manage the increased flow," Amutenya said.
According to sources, during 'rain mode', sewage water is discharged into the river that is not fully treated. It is reportedly only treated through fine screens and grit removal, and this partially treated water is then discharged into the river along with the fully treated water.
Ujams challenges
In an email seen by Republikein, written by the general manager of Ujams Wastewater Treatment Company (UWTC), Thomas Honer, and sent to the municipality on 24 May, he explained that during the design phase of the plant, the municipality decided to build a "dry weather buffer tank and not a wet weather buffer tank with more buffer capacity."
The decision was allegedly made to save costs. According to Honer, the plant has been experiencing power outages since November 2014, which appears to be just one of the several challenges the UWTC team is facing at the plant. "The problems with electricity supply have been mentioned several times, and eventually, a portion of the supply cable was replaced, and since then, the power and supply problems are being sorted out."
"The cause of this problem was beyond the responsibility of UWTC," reads Honer's email.
Honer further explained that incidents in the past were caused by external factors beyond the control of the team on-site. These incidents allegedly included fires/smouldering, dumping of waste by third parties into the old dams and other issues.
– [email protected]
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