Sewage threatens Arendskloof’s paradise
Dead fish at the Arendskloof dam. Ward 15 councillor André van Dyk said approximately 1,300 dead fish had already been removed.
Platinum Weekly newspaper | Rustenburg – Birdsong across the water. Children casting fishing lines. A quiet afternoon beside a dam alive with fish. For families in Arendskloof, the network of dams has been the heart of their little paradise – and home to creatures that need no gate code to belong.
Now, a foul sewage stench hangs over that setting. Platinum Weekly’s reporter could smell it. For residents, the pollution reaches beyond the water’s edge and into the daily experience of being home.
On Tuesday 10 November 2026, Ward 15 councillor André van Dyk said approximately 1,300 dead fish had been removed from the dam. According to Van Dyk, sewage entered stormwater drains during sewer repairs on Arend Road and flowed into the dam.
The fish deaths are the most visible loss. The wider concern is what this contamination means for the birds, insects and other creatures that depend on these waters.
On 4 November, Arendskloof Master Property Association chairman Danie Rossouw lodged a formal complaint with the Department of Water and Sanitation, requesting an independent investigation, urgent inspections, water-quality testing and rehabilitation. His complaint made a crucial point: removing dead fish does not remove the underlying pollution.
ARENDSKLOOF HAS ENDURED THIS BEFORE
Platinum Weekly newspaper | Rustenburg – In our 10 February 2023 article, “Sewage spills into Arendskloof dam”, Platinum Weekly reported that dead fish had begun surfacing on 4 February 2023, following a sewage spill from a burst pipe in Arend Road. More than 400 dead carp were removed.
At the time, Jay Jay Esterhuizen of Big Time Construction and his team temporarily blocked the inflow of contaminated water while municipal repairs were awaited. They also worked to prevent sewage reaching the other two dams.
More than three years later, the community is again counting dead fish.
The municipality has recently repaired the Arendskloof Road sewage system. A lasting solution must now include close monitoring of the Arend Road sewerage system, scheduled inspections and preventative servicing before another overflow reaches the dams. Water testing and a rehabilitation plan must establish what is needed to restore the damaged environment.
Arendskloof’s residents deserve to enjoy their waterside home again. The birds, fish and smaller creatures sharing it need clean water to survive. Neither should have to depend on emergency barriers and the hope that the next rainfall will wash the problem away.
