Swimming in sewage: Sanitation services in this metro are collapsing in plain sight

Communities and businesses across the small towns of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in the Free State say they are drowning in a crisis that has become part of daily life: raw sewage spilling into streets, homes and rivers.

Here, it is no surprise to find children leaping over streams of waste on their way to school, residents forced to wade through stagnant pools, and families breathing in the stench of contamination.

“It has been so many years of them watching us live in sewage like pigs, not humans, pigs,” said Wepener resident Nthati Mokoena. “They have promised us upgrades for years so that it would be a thing of the past, but our children are still walking through it.”

Mangaung is one of eight metropolitan municipalities in South Africa, home to over 800,000 people across Bloemfontein, Botshabelo, Dewetsdorp, Thaba Nchu, Van Stadensrus and Wepener.

It is also the only metro under national administration, after a 2022 intervention followed a failed provincial effort due to “significant financial and service delivery failures for a prolonged period.”

A key area of failure has been sanitation. At the end of 2024, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) released a damning 178-page report on service delivery in the Free State.

It found that Mangaung is violating several constitutional rights and environmental laws through ongoing sewage spills and failing infrastructure.

The Commission said these failures undermine human dignity, health, safety and the environment.

“Sewage spills in the Metro and in towns within the Metro have been a perennial challenge,” the SAHRC noted.

“There have been reports and complaints of residents suffering from respiratory illnesses attributed to sewage spills within their proximity. School learners must jump over streams of sewage on their way to school, posing a risk of loss of life.”

The metro acknowledged significant challenges with its sanitation services, with 22% still relying on pit latrines serviced by honey suckers. The municipality’s Head of Department of Technical Services, Itumeleng Masobeng highlighted issues such as:

• Sewage spills.
• Delayed responses to sanitation problems.
• Malfunctioning treatment plants due to vandalism and budgetary constraints.

Former municipal speaker and DA councillor Maryke Davies said that since the SAHRC report, “no improvements have been felt on the ground. Words have not turned into action, and as such, residents continue to suffer.”

She warned that Mangaung’s metro expansion, including new land granted for unserviced developments, is worsening pressure on already broken infrastructure.

Newsday visited Wepener, Van Stadensrus and Dewetsdorp, where the sanitation crisis is an unmissable part of everyday life.

According to the Department of Water and Sanitation’s Green Drop Report, each of these three Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTWs) are at “critical risk,” requiring urgent intervention.

Free State MEC for COGTA and Human Settlements Teboho Mokoena said that these WWTWs and pump stations “have been prone to vandalism which has resulted in them being non functional.”

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Wepener

Wepener is a town founded in 1867 near the border of Lesotho, named after Louw Wepener, the leader of the Boers in their war with the Basotho chief Moshoeshoe I in 1865.

Home to over 10,000 people, Wepener became part of the metro as part of the municipal amalgamation in 2001, which merged Bloemfontein, Botshabelo, and Thaba Nchu.

Across the municipality, sewage gushes along roads, passing houses and businesses and ultimately, into fresh water sources.

Its WWTW is completely dysfunctional, prompting the municipality to rely on pumps, which are also dysfunctional.

In an oral response in the provincial legislature to the DA’s David Van Vuuren earlier this year, MEC Mokoena said that interventions are underway, but funding is tight and consistent vandalism is an issue.

Electricity has been reconnected at three pumpstations and fencing provided, but understaffed operators have to manually run them, leaving periods when they sit idle and flood.

Mokoena said that plans are underway for the refurbishment of more broken sewage pumpstations for the next financial year “when cable supply has been restored” and funding is available.

They also plan on renovating the WWTW in the new financial year to make it “partially functional,” but there is debate on building an entirely new costly WWTW.

However, Councillor Davies said Wepener’s sewerage works have been under upgrade for five years, divided into three phases.

Phase 1, funded by the Department of Water and Sanitation, is complete, while phases 2 and 3, supposed to be funded by Mangaung, are delayed due to lack of municipal funds.

“Raw sewerage is pumped into the Sandspruit which flows into the Caledon River. The Caledon River flows into the Welbedact Dam, which is a water supply for Mangaung drinking water,” she explained.

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Dewetsdorp

Dewetsdorp is no different to its neighbour Wepener. It is 75km south-east of Bloemfontein, was founded in 1880 on the farm Kareefontein and became a municipality in 1890.

Named after Jacobus Ignatius de Wet, father of Boer War general Christiaan de Wet, it is now known for sheep, cattle, wheat, and maize farming, yet continues to battle with service delivery woes.

Also home to an estimated 10,000, the SAHRC report found that residents in this area have been subjected to unhealthy sewage spills for several years due to an incomplete sewage network and poor workmanship.

Another massive problem is consistent vandalism and an under capacitated workforce. The WWTW has been stripped bare, from electrical parts to the building itself. It is idle.

There is a dedicated person on site, while a handful of others manually unblock sewage from around the town. He showed how a critical pump had not been working for months. “All I can do is add chlorine,” he said.

He said that he spends most of his time fighting a losing battle, chasing vandals away from an already under-capable site.

However, the consistent vandalism has rendered much of the site useless, and despite the workers’ efforts, raw sewage is still being pumped into the nearby fresh water sources from the WWTW.

Independent water samples taken from fresh water in this area have shown dangerously high levels of e.coli.

Sewage spills into the Modder River in this area, which flows into the Rustfontein Dam, which supplies Mangaung with drinking water.

The MEC reported that the R702 pump station is operational, a vandalized township station is slated for refurbishment, and plans are underway to convert the WWTW to a pond system to reduce vandalism.

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Van Stadenrus

Van Stadensrus, was established on the farm Mook in 1920 and proclaimed in 1925.

While its WWTW is working, three staff service both the plant itself and the sanitation issues of the entire town.

There has recently been fencing put up around it to curb vandalism, with hardworking and dedicated staff working there.

Yet, while operational, the site has its challanges of degradation.

The MEC said that Van Stadensrus’ WWTW is scheduled for refurbishment in the next financial year, including upgrades to the operational buildings, installation of chlorine dosing equipment, refurbishment of the chlorine building, and cleaning of both anaerobic and aerobic ponds.

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Financial standing of the metro

The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) highlighted major issues in the Mangaung Metro, including poor financial management, weak internal controls, and governance failures.

Speaking to Parliament in May, the AGSA noted that despite interventions and a recovery plan, the municipality continues to face persistent problems, including R278 million in irregular expenditure, R123 million in wasteful spending, and inadequate financial planning.

Only 2% of capital expenditure is allocated for maintenance, well below the recommended 8%.

A lack of skilled personnel and ineffective contract management within the infrastructure unit has led to stalled and failed projects, further eroding service delivery.

In the 2023/24 financial year, the municipality achieved only 45% of its service delivery targets despite spending 111% of the allocated budget.

Mangaung faces significant debt challenges, with a debtors’ balance of R12.92 billion as of July 31, 2025, owed by households, businesses, and government entities.

These debts, combined with disputes, illegal service access, and mismanagement, strain municipal operations and service delivery.

City response

During a SAHRC hearing, City Manager Sello More acknowledged systemic challenges across governance, finance, infrastructure, and environmental management.

Rapid community growth, institutional gaps, high vacancy rates, and underspending on informal settlement upgrades exacerbate sanitation pressures.

He confirmed that water and sanitation master plans form part of broader infrastructure strategies and pledged to establish standard operating procedures with clear turnaround times for complaints.

In an interview with Journal News, Mangaung Mayor Gregory Nthatisi highlighted sanitation as a major challenge.

He said the metro needs R3.1 billion to upgrade systems and stressed that proper sanitation is vital for public health and dignity.

Nthatisi noted that past instability and underqualified acting officials delayed projects, and said the metro is now recruiting skilled staff and implementing structured management to improve oversight.

He added that plans are underway to refurbish wastewater treatment works, expand coverage, and coordinate with national departments to ensure better sanitation services for all residents.

Yet, Davies said that talk is cheap as councilors and thousands of residents “have heard it all before.”

Other images of sanitation woes