This is according to nature conservation scientist and the CEO of BirdLife South Africa, Mark Anderson, who said in a Facebook post that the entire debacle could have been avoided had the municipality simply heeded to the warnings of experts over a decade ago. The rescue operation comes after adult flamingos abandoned their young following extreme dry conditions such as high temperatures, with no water inflow from the sewage works. Anderson said that experts told the municipality over fifteen years ago that it ought to fix its sewage works.

 Anderson said, over the years, he and other nature conservationists have offered specialist studies and assistance. It eventually escalated to petitions and even lawyer’s letters with regards to the alleged non-functional sewage system in place. He further claims that, for many years, raw sewerage has been flowing into the veld and only about 10 to 15% of the sewerage water produced by the city, each day, is reaching the sewage works with none of this water flowing into the dam. He further states that the water not reaching the dam is due to leaking pipes and faulty pump stations which are a result of the municipality’s negligence.

Anderson also adds that the municipality should have urgent action taken against it by the Northern Cape Department of Tourism, Environment, and Conservation, and the national departments of Water and Sanitation and Environmental Affairs. Meanwhile, municipal spokesperson, Sello Matsie, has rubbished claims that the municipality is to be blamed. He further refutes claims that no water was flowing into the dam and said, in fact, the pan receives water from three sources such as the home-based waste water treatment plant, rain and the municipality. Despite this, Matsie also admits that they have challenges and that the breakdown of water supply pipes from the Goga Pump station, towards the waste water treatment plant, contributed to less water being deposited in the dam. He says one of the major problems was that once they start pumping water, sewage spilled into neighbouring townships, which resulted in lesser supply for the Kamfers Dam. He says they are, however, still working on this.

"I am deeply saddened by the tragedy that is unfolding at Kamfers Dam, the wetland outside Kimberley. The dam is drying up and 100s, possibly 1000s, of flamingo eggs and small chicks have been deserted by their parents. With almost no rain this summer, extremely high temperatures, and no water inflow from the sewage works, the dam is rapidly drying.

A rescue operation is currently underway and 870 chicks were collected from the dam and transported to Pretoria on Friday (and 1000s more chicks could follow in due course). The worst is that this catastrophe could have averted if the Sol Plaatje Municipality had heeded the call from conservationists and ornithologists over the past 15 years to fix the sewage works.

For years, raw sewerage has been flowing into the veld (in fact into previously pristine and unique pans on Platfontein, a property owned by the San community) and I understand that currently only 10-15% of the c. 30-40 megalitres of sewerage water produced by the city each day is reaching the sewage works (and NONE is flowing into the dam). This is because of leaking pipes, faulty pump stations, and a non-functional sewage works. It is harsh, but perhaps correct to say that the blood of the dead and dying flamingo chicks is on the hands of the incompetent officials at the Sol Plaatje Municipality who, despite meetings, specialist studies, offers of assistance, petitions, lawyer’s letters, and more, over more than a decade, have just not got their act together.

If anything, I hope that the current catastrophe will be the wake-up call which finally gets the municipality to fix the mess. Urgent and decisive action should be taken by the Northern Cape Department of Tourism, Environment, and Conservation, and the national departments of Water and Sanitation and Environmental Affairs. The municipality should be punished for its flagrant disregard of the environment, especially for Kamfers Dam’s Lesser Flamingos, but also for the people of Kimberley. The municipality should be prosecuted for failing to adhere to provincial and national legislation, and they should be hauled over the coals for disregarding international environmental agreements. They are even in contravention of the important principles in our country’s Constitution.

It is encouraging to see the people of South Africa offering support and expressing concern, and it shows that the South Africans in general love nature. I am however concerned about the well being of the chicks, and it is important for them to be transported correctly, fed appropriate food, and housed in suitable enclosures. Imprinting on humans should be avoided so that the surviving birds can be released back into the wild, but only following disease screening (to prevent the transmission of diseases to wild birds). None of the flamingos should be sold to international collectors!

I would like to appeal to people and organisations to support the rescue and rearing efforts. This is going to be a massive and difficult undertaking, and it needs to be done properly with adherence to international best practice husbandry techniques. It is going to be a costly and labour-intensive operation, and it will take months and months before the flamingos will be ready for release.

Very importantly, there needs to be more vociferous criticism of the Sol Plaatje Municipality so that it can, for once and for all, fix the infrastructure which has resulted in this very unfortunate tragedy," he said.

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