Ongwediva
The Ongwediva Town Council is extremely frustrated with residents that intentionally damage oxidation ponds so they can divert sewage water teeming with fish to flow into their villages and beyond, but the fish they catch is contaminated and not fit for human consumption.
Spokesperson of the Ongwediva Town Council Andreas Uutoni says the municipality has tried its level best to stop the unhygienic practice, but their appeals seem to have fallen on deaf ears, as villagers continue to divert sewage water so that they can continue catching fish. Residents of Elyambala, Otshinyadhila, Okaku and Efidilyomulunga villages near Ongwediva in the Oshana Region are now up in arms over the issue and have accused Ongwediva Town Council of opening some of its oxidation dams to allow sewage water to flow into their villages.
An oxidation pond is a man-made body of water in which waste is broken down by bacteria in a process frequently used with other waste-treatment processes, such as a sewerage lagoon.
Utoni said they found – based on investigations carried out a week ago by a technical committee – that the damage was caused by residents who catch fish to sell and for own consumption, even though they have been repeatedly informed that the fish is unfit for human consumption.
He said the town council tried to contain the situation, although they know that some villagers intentionally divert the contaminated water to catch the fish. Utoni said not all villagers were responsible for the damage, but that there are those who benefitted from illegal fishing.
One of the affected persons, Josef Naingungo, said the town council recently built an overflow canal from one of the sewage dams to allow the sewage to flow into the Elyambala pan (oshana), because its dams are full. This toxic mixture had been flowing into nearby villages, until the council built a temporary dam to contain the situation.
People in the area, including schoolchildren, are now forced to wade through the rancid water, putting them at risk of contracting diseases. On Monday, children could be seen struggling to cross the pools of sewage water to get to school.
Naingungo said community wells and dams, from which they draw water to drink, to wash and to cook, are now full of sewage water from the oxidation ponds. In response, Utoni said council is working on plans to construct additional dams to solve the problem.
Uutoni admitted that the town’s seven oxidation dams are full to capacity and cannot keep up with the town’s fast-growing population, which currently stands at around 27 000. Because of this rapid growth the municipality had to build an overflow channel to release some water into the nearby pan, he explained.
According to Uutoni, the tender for the construction of a new dam is already out, and members of the community where the dam will be constructed – not far from the existing ones – have been consulted and compensated to clear the way for the infrastructure.