MAKHADO (LOUIS TRICHARDT) - The dump site on the Vondeling road is slowly but surely encroaching upon the nearby residents. It is feared that the situation at the dump site may also lead to the pollution of the town's drinking water.

The deepest portion of the dump site's gravel pit, which is gradually being filled up, lies adjacent to the southern border of the two properties, Rondebosch 40 and Rondebosch 13. The Oberholzer and Van der Waal families' properties border directly on the southern perimeter of the dumpsite and are directly affected by the worsening situation.

The filling of the gravel pit is moving progressively closer to their properties. When the Van der Waals bought the property in 1986, the gravel pit was used to dispose of garden refuge only. It later became the municipal dumping site after the site on the Sinthumule road was closed.

Besides the smells and noisy operations these families have to endure, the danger of pollution of the drinking water of the town becomes more real every day. That is because waste items are being dumped closer and closer to the deepest part of the gravel pit, which forms a natural wetland during the rainy season.

Prof Ben van der Waal, the owner of one of the properties, is a professor in Biological Sciences at the University of Venda. Prof Van der Waal closely observed the whole situation at the dumpsite and came up with some well-considered proposals, if only he could find an ear to listen to him. Van der Waal had written numerous letters since April 1989. In a letter dated December 9, 2003, proposals were made to the Departments of Environmental Affairs and Water Affairs, as well as to the Makhado Municipality. He followed up with a letter to the municipality in March this year.

Prof Van der Waal proposes that the filling of the gravel pit at the Vondeling dumpsite should be confined to the northern section, leaving the southern deepest portion of the gravel pit as a wetland.

"This will have two functions: maintenance of an existing wetland, creating environmental and biotic diversity. At the same time, a collection point of leachates from the dump is created, minimizing the spillover into the headwaters of the Levhuvhu River and the Albasini Dam, the source of drinking water for Makhado," reads part of the proposal.

The present dumpsite has a long fence full of holes that is neither maintained nor patrolled. The active dump site should be restricted to a smaller area that can be fenced off and controlled properly. The southern deepest portion of the gravel pit that has developed into a viable wetland can have great advantages for the environment. The self-purification abilities of a wetland can be applied there to purify run-off water originating from the dumpsite. The wetland breaks the organic components from the dumpsite down to harmless substances and lays down inorganic chemicals in sediments of the wetland.

In addition, aquatic bird species frequent the wetland at the Vondeling dumpsite. Many species were recorded there during casual observations, including the African crake, grey and blacknecked herons, reed cormorant, giant brown-hooded malachite and pied kingfisher, hamerkop, glossy ibis, blacksmith plover, whitefaced duck and red-billed teal. Water monitors and pythons were also observed there.

When the deepest part of the original gravel pit is maintained as a wetland and the northern part utilized as an enclosed dumpsite, Prof Van der Waal suggests that the rest of the present dump site should be filled with topsoil, levelled and planted with indigenous trees. Upgrading of the recycling activities at the dump site is also proposed. Presently, the deepest part of the pit where the wetland should be maintained is quickly being filled up with waste material, preventing the proper functioning of the wetland and posing a risk to the drinking water.