Cape Town - The Western Cape ActionSA constituency has revealed that it is looking into launching a formal appeal against the granting of a permit to the City of Cape Town that will see it pump raw sewage into the ocean.
ActionSA Western Cape chairperson Michelle Wasserman announced the party’s plans, saying that the party had been disturbed to find out that the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) had approved the City’s application for the permit.
According to ActionSA, the permit granted to the City of Cape Town by the DFFE would see the local municipality pump raw sewage into the ocean through Green Point, Camps Bay and Hout Bay for the next five years.
Wasserman said ActionSA was disappointed to learn about the approval of the permit despite objections from the public and reputable institutions.
She said numerous agencies and universities had researched the negative impact of these sewage outflows on the environment.
In 2015, Stellenbosch University also strongly opposed the previous permit application and provided reasons that had not been addressed or mentioned in the current DFFE permit approval.
Wasserman said raw sewage had been pumped into the ocean just off Cape Town’s beaches since the construction of a sewage outfall pipe at Green Point in 1895.
“In the early 1920s, following an enteric fever outbreak, the then-chief engineer recommended that all sewage be treated before being discharged into the sea. Since then, all the City has done is extend the length of the outflow pipe at Green Point and build new pipes at Camps Bay and Hout Bay.”
“ActionSA notes and applauds the National Sea Rescue Institute’s (NSRI) objections and appeals against the issuing of these permits. ActionSA supports the NSRI in its questioning of the legality of discharging raw and untreated sewage into a marine protected area.
“To pump raw sewage into a marine protected area is a clear violation of our constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to health,” she said.
In KwaZulu-Natal, ActionSA recently launched High Court proceedings to reportedly prevent further economic devastation to tourism caused by rampant sewage pollution in that province.
According to the party, it will similarly take the necessary steps in the Western Cape to protect residents’ health, the environment and the tourism economy.
“To this end, ActionSA has met with its attorneys and is in the process of formulating an appeal against the decision to grant the City of Cape Town permission to continue pumping raw sewage into our oceans,” Wasserman said.