Polokwane Local Municipality’s wastewater treatment works were discharging more than 48 million litres of largely untreated sewage into the Blood and Sand rivers daily in a report published on 26 October 2026, while construction of a replacement regional treatment plant remained unfinished and stalled. GroundUp
Key takeaways
- The Seshego, Polokwane and Mankweng wastewater treatment works scored a combined average of 23% in the Department of Water and Sanitation’s latest 2025 Green Drop Report. GroundUp
- More than 48 million litres of largely untreated sewage was being released daily into the Blood and Sand rivers, with about six million litres from Mankweng joining the Sand River about 18 km downstream. Business Day
- All three works were receiving sewage above their design capacity, including Polokwane, whose July inflow exceeded its 36-million-litre-per-day capacity by 27 million litres per day. GroundUp
- The first phase of a planned new regional wastewater treatment plant was initially due in February 2020, but its completion deadline was subsequently revised to 28 January 2026. Business Day
What happened
The three municipal wastewater treatment works serving Polokwane were operating in a critical condition, with an average microbiological-compliance score of 3% and an average chemical-compliance score of 37% in the 2025 Green Drop assessment. GroundUp The works were also over capacity: Polokwane received 27 million litres per day more than its design capacity in July, Seshego was over capacity by more than one million litres per day, and Mankweng received 630,000 litres per day above capacity in August. Business Day
The pollution was visible in the Sand River below Doornbult Road, where reporting recorded thick white foam, chemical-pollution indicators, an odour and opaque water; the water is used by large commercial farmers to irrigate crops. GroundUp Although the municipality had sufficient staff, qualified supervisors and process controllers, the Green Drop report said it did not monitor the downstream effects of effluent or their impact on groundwater used by surrounding rural villages for drinking. Business Day
The regional project was intended to address the treatment failures. Its first phase has a design capacity of 20 million litres per day and forms part of a plant planned ultimately to treat 100 million litres per day. GroundUp
| Project item | Reported detail |
|---|---|
| Original first-phase completion target | February 2020 |
| First contractor | NJR Projects, appointed in a R152-million deal |
| Replacement contractor appointment | R113-million contract over two years |
| Revised remedial-work deadline | 13 December 2024 |
| Additional remedial-work cost | R5.2 million |
| Latest completion deadline | 28 January 2026 |
The project history was outlined in the Auditor-General’s 2024/25 management report: construction halted in December 2021, the first contract was terminated in April 2022, and another company was appointed nine months later. Business Day The Auditor-General said irregularities indicated “deficiencies in project planning, contract management and oversight, which resulted in unnecessary costs to the municipality.” GroundUp
A site visit on 5 November 2025 found progress since the previous inspection, but the project was five years and eight months beyond its initial completion date. Business Day When GroundUp visited on 20 September, the site was fenced, its main gate was unlocked, construction remained unfinished and cracks were visible in some concrete structures. GroundUp
Specification read
For procurement purposes, the reported first-phase capacity of 20 million litres per day converts to 20,000 m³/day, while the ultimate design capacity of 100 million litres per day converts to 100,000 m³/day. GroundUp The sources do not report the project’s design population equivalent or inlet BOD/COD concentrations, so those values cannot be used to set equipment requirements without further design data.
This event bears directly on the complete treatment train rather than one isolated unit. A plant at the reported flow would require an agreed flow-equalisation and primary-treatment arrangement, followed by biological treatment, tertiary treatment and disinfection; the specific biological configuration was not reported. The inadequate microbiological and chemical compliance scores indicate that treatment performance and final-water quality need verification as a package, rather than reliance on flow capacity alone. The municipal wastewater treatment specification should therefore make upstream and downstream treatment requirements explicit.
For operators comparing process configurations, the MBR versus conventional activated-sludge comparison is relevant to biological-stage selection, while a plant facing ammonia and other chemical-compliance pressure may also need to evaluate the chemical treatment requirements associated with the chosen process.
If your plant looks like a municipal system carrying more than 48,000 m³/day of largely untreated flow, with average microbiological compliance of 3%, chemical compliance of 37%, effluent entering two rivers and infrastructure delivery behind schedule, the practical requirement is a verified end-to-end treatment solution with enforceable capacity, performance and completion milestones.
FAQ
What flow and capacity are needed for the Polokwane regional project?
The reported first phase is sized for 20 million litres per day, equivalent to 20,000 m³/day, and the plant is ultimately planned for 100 million litres per day, equivalent to 100,000 m³/day. The design population equivalent and inlet BOD/COD values were not reported, so a more detailed process specification cannot be derived from the available information. GroundUp
What should a buyer check when comparing biological treatment options?
The buyer should first define the required flow, effluent limits, footprint, reuse objectives and sludge-handling route. For the Polokwane project, the reported scale is 20,000 m³/day for the first phase and 100,000 m³/day ultimately, but neither design population equivalent nor BOD/COD loading was supplied. The integrated sewage treatment specification should therefore be developed from confirmed design data rather than headline capacity alone.
How should contract and delivery risk be managed on a stalled plant?
The reported history includes an initial completion target of February 2020, a later deadline of 28 January 2026, and an Auditor-General finding that the irregularities reflected deficiencies in project planning, contract management and oversight. Business Day Contracts should therefore tie payments and acceptance to verified construction progress, hydraulic-capacity commissioning, effluent-performance testing, handover documentation and clear remedies for delay.
What evidence is needed to select a treatment supplier?
Ask suppliers to demonstrate treatment performance under the confirmed design flow and wastewater loads, provide a complete process and mass-balance basis, identify treatment-stage guarantees and explain how final effluent quality will be tested. This Polokwane event is directly relevant because its three works averaged only 3% microbiological compliance and 37% chemical compliance while all were receiving more sewage than designed for. GroundUp
