The Vaal River Anti-Pollution Forum was formed on Thursday, by Sello Seitlholo, the Deputy Minister of the Department of Water and Sanitation.
The forum, meant to tackle pollution leading to a deterioration in water quality in the Vaal River, will be led by Mr Marius Keet.
Speaking about the Forum, Seitlholo said the Anti-Pollution Forum is aimed at co-ordinating, improving and integrating efforts for the management of the Vaal River quality in line with its determined resource quality objectives.
The forum is expected to provide high-level guidance aimed at ensuring the protection of the Vaal River as well as identifying remedial actions to mitigate the impact of pollution.
Other functions are the coordination and support of awareness building initiatives regarding water quality management in the Vaal River catchment.
The Forum is tasked to nvestigate and recommend innovative and best applicable technologies to deal with water pollution, as well as enhance collaboration with various institutions to improve the quality of the Vaal River.
Keet is a former employee of the Department.
He has over four decades of experience as the Chief Director in mine water management and as Director for the Highveld Region, managing water quality in the Komati, Crocodile East, Sabie and Upper Vaal Catchment.
He also played a critical role in implementing the National Water Act through the establishment of the 10 water quality forums in the Upper Vaal area.
The Department said in a statement, the The Vaal River Anti-Pollution Forum, is a non-statutory forum, made up of various stakeholders with a particular focus on stakeholders that are directly affected by the declining water quality of the Vaal River from the Upper, Middle and Lower Vaal.