The Department of Water and Sanitation has initiated an independent conditional assessment of some the Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) that discharge their final effluent into the Vaal River. The condition assessment audit was initiated as a result of the deteriorating wastewater quality and state of the Vaal River system mainly due to sewage spills.

Lekwa and Msukaligwa Local Municipalities were targeted in the Mpumalanga Province in order to find long-lasting solutions to the problem of raw sewage spills in the Vaal River. The Department is currently in the process of finding ways to assist the municipalities to implement the recommendations of the audit report.