‘We are just waiting to die’: Nyakallong residents live with poisoned water and raw sewage

More than three years of polluted water and raw sewage have left homes and health battered in Nyakallong, Free State, residents say, and families remain trapped alongside a foul‑smelling reservoir of mining discharge known locally as Voëlpan Dam.

Homes flooded, lives damaged

According to The Citizen, 68‑year‑old Mmathabo Mabaso has watched her house and health decline as contaminated water and sewage seep into her backyard. Her home borders Voëlpan Dam, which residents call the “stinkpan.”

“I have water with raw sewage seeping from the floor, the walls are damp, and my furniture has been destroyed,”

the article quotes Mabaso as saying. The Citizen also reports Mabaso saying,

“We are just waiting to die here.”

The Citizen says Mabaso’s four‑bedroom house, which she built with her savings, is now a death trap and is on the brink of collapsing. At least 77 homes have been deemed uninhabitable, and some have been destroyed, the report states.

Health and environmental concerns

The Citizen reports community monitoring and Bench Marks Foundation testing found elevated concentrations of arsenic, lead, copper, silicon and uranium in water collected from the area, and warned of health risks. The SAHRC’s 2024 inquiry into service delivery in the Free State recommended that residents living close to Voëlpan Dam be relocated and that the local sewerage system be repaired, The Citizen says.

Promises, investigations and slow progress

The Citizen reports that the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein found Matjhabeng Municipality had failed in its constitutional duties to provide sustainable services and a safe, healthy environment. Despite these findings and investigations, the crisis persists and residents say attempts to secure relief have been futile.

The Citizen says the provincial government has previously acknowledged the urgency of moving residents away from hazardous environments, but a previously set deadline has passed and families remain frustrated by delayed action.

Mining role and company response

The Citizen links the contamination in part to mining activity. The article reports that Harmony Gold told The Citizen it has established and invested in two water treatment plants at Target, and that currently all water is treated on‑site and no discharge goes into the dam. The company told The Citizen it started assisting affected community members to relocate to emergency structures in 2023; Harmony described that relocation as a temporary solution while government works on longer‑term relocation plans.

Community toll

The Citizen describes widespread damage: houses waterlogged, damp walls, destroyed furniture, and residents reporting constant headaches and breathing difficulties, including asthma. The article recounts incidents such as a child leaping into the dam to rescue a sibling who had fallen in trying to retrieve a ball, underscoring the physical danger posed by the contaminated waterbody.

Residents quoted by The Citizen say the combination of polluted water, overflowing sewage and unresolved infrastructure failures has turned parts of Nyakallong into unsafe living spaces.