The man trying to save the ‘river of disease and death’ in Gauteng

White sewage foam a metre thick, black sludge tides leaving fish floating on the surface, and trash piling up so high one can ‘walk on water.’ These are the tragic realities of the once pristine Hennops River in Gauteng.

It is now dubbed “the river of disease and death,” due to its persistent pollution caused by industrial and urban runoff, sewage discharge, and illegal sand mining.

A recent study by Thabiso Letseka from the University of the Witwatersrand’s Faculty of Science found the river critically polluted and unfit for drinking, irrigation, or recreation.

However, it was not always the case. Artist and activist Willem Snyman recalls when the river once breathed life into ecosystems along its 100km journey.

Originating in Kempton Park, east of Johannesburg, and flowing through several urban and peri-urban areas, including Tembisa, Olifantsfontein, and Centurion, it eventually joins the Crocodile River near the Hartbeespoort Dam.

It once supported a rich array of native fish, waterbirds, and riparian mammals, including spotted-necked otters, yellow-billed ducks, and endangered minnows, but the severe pollution has decimated biodiversity.

Today, only a handful of hardy or invasive species survive, while most sensitive and specialist species have vanished.

In response to waves of the different types of pollution destroying wildlife in what was once a pristine ecosystem that raised him, Snyman launched the Fountain River Environmental Sanctuary Hennops (Fresh) eight years ago.

Based in the lower reaches of the river within the Crocodile River Nature Reserve, Fresh, he said, “unfortunately couldn’t stop this sewage ecocide, and most of the life got wiped out.”

Now focusing largely on the massive volumes of litter, the team has begun working upstream, targeting severe pollution near the river’s source.

So far, they have removed around 500,000 cubic metre bags of plastic waste, employing dozens of unemployed residents from nearby informal settlements.

Cleaning up the Hennops River

With attempts to address sewage pollution proving ineffective, Snyman explained that they shifted focus to plastic waste.

They launched numerous cleanup events to catch and remove the plastics near the source, before they get scattered irretrievably in the surrounding nature

The team began moving upstream, concentrating on pollution near the river’s origin.

For over five years, they have operated large litter traps equipped with biological filters and floating wetlands in the Olifantsfontein wetland.

These systems catch large amounts of plastic during floods, preventing it from dispersing downstream.

Unemployed residents from nearby informal settlements are hired to gather the waste into one-cubic-meter bags, which are then hauled above the high-water mark and stacked into heaps.

The scale of pollution has been staggering. At the traps, they’ve removed vast amounts of Styrofoam food containers, nappies, and other plastics, as well as dead dogs.

Snyman described how the trash “often piled up two meters high and stretched fifty meters long,” forming a mass “dense enough to walk on.”

Despite the grim conditions, their efforts have shown some positive impact. Snyman noted visible improvements in water quality due to the biofilters.

The traps also help by slowing floodwaters, which reduces erosion and promotes riverbank recovery. Still, he admitted,

“We’ve removed around 500,000 cubes of plastics from the river, but it feels like one’s not making a dent in this toxic avalanche.” With E. coli levels in the millions, change remains slow and difficult to detect.

Fight to get the Hennops clean

Funding remains the biggest obstacle, especially when it comes to paying those hired to remove the waste. “Usually we need around twelve guys at R300 each, it escalates fast,” said Snyman.

Once recyclers pick out valuable materials, the team is left with massive quantities of unwanted Styrofoam, which no one recycles.

At one point, they were filling a 30-cubic-meter skip daily, only for the waste to end up in already burdened landfills. Snyman noted that alternative disposal solutions are still being explored.

Municipal neglect has worsened the situation. Snyman said that over the last five years, municipalities have been central to the river’s decline, mainly due to inaction and poor management.

“We received no help from the Ekurhuleni municipality,” he said, calling them “probably the largest polluters of this freshwater system.”

Areas like Tembisa, Ivory Park, and Olifantsfontein suffer from inadequate sanitation, waste removal, and stormwater infrastructure.

“The huge piles of uncollected trash represent a severe health risk to them and everyone downstream.”

The infrastructure around is also collapsing. Snyman described “wetlands and riverbanks buried under building rubble,” with “long rows of sewage pipes stick straight into the streams.”

Raw sewage regularly enters the water, spreading disease. At the center of this crisis is the Olifantsfontein Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW), which was built to treat 110 million litres daily but often processes nearly twice that.

“The simple truth is that WWTWs are slowly rendering the drinking water of the country unusable,” warned Professor Anthony Turton.

Yet no one takes responsibility. “Everyone passes the buck,” said Snyman.

Turton echoed this, saying, “Wastewater policies in South Africa are mostly OK… none are being enforced.” He added, “Regardless of the ruling party, it’s the Three D’s — deny, deflect, and demonise.”

In late 2024, Snyman said Fresh’s waste traps, upgraded at a cost of R100,000, were removed by municipal contractors without warning.

“We need more hands-on work and support from the authorities,” he said.

Dr. Ferrial Adam of WaterCAN shared the frustration: “Municipalities are making the issues worse, there is not enough enforcement to arrest all polluters, people dumping etc and hold them accountable.”

She added, “The cry that they do not have money makes me so angry because it is not about no money, it is more about mismanagement, poor/incorrect priorities.”

Working with government to clean Hennops

Activists like Snyman are pushing to reinstall the removed litter traps and are seeking municipal cooperation for rubbish removal.

Meanwhile, WaterCAN is calling for more decisive legal action, including arrests and dismissals of negligent officials, and is building a national citizen science network to hold polluters accountable.

The hope is that with genuine cooperation and accountability, the Hennops River may one day begin to recover. However, this will require the municipalities to finally take responsibility, not just make promises.

On 27 May, the cities of Tshwane, Johannesburg, and Ekurhuleni acknowledged the extent of the crisis and announced a joint effort to rehabilitate the Kaalspruit Catchment, which feeds into the Hennops.

Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya described the meeting as “a defining moment,” stating that the cities had moved past “the blame-game” and were “ready to act.”

A joint task team of senior officials will be created to coordinate plans, with support from the Gauteng Department of Environment.