Cape Town - After being alerted by residents, the City addressed a sewage overflow into Diep River around Woodbridge Island, the City’s Water and Sanitation department has said. The sewage overflow was part of a long-standing crisis affecting this particular water body.
Mayco member for water and sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, was alerted to a stream of raw sewage seen in the Diep River by community members on Sunday. He visited the site with a team to attend to the service request and to investigate the sewer network for blocked sewer manholes.
“When I arrived on site, the overflow had abated. The tide had started to rise obscuring visible evidence of the sewage overflow. City officials also responded rapidly to the alert with assessments of potential blocked drains being undertaken to identify potential sources,” said Badroodien.
Members of the Milnerton Central Residents Association (MCRA) said they were horrified to observe and report what appeared to be large amounts of raw sewage flowing in the Diep River on Sunday morning, adding that to their knowledge, still no source has been identified.
MCRA member Caroline Marx said this was alarming considering the size of the spill.
“The community is also still waiting for official feedback on the sewage spills which have closed Rietvlei for many months, most recently last week again.
“We are encouraged by Mayco member, Zahid Badroodien, and his team coming out personally on a Sunday morning to investigate, however a commitment to an urgent action plan with timelines and a willingness to be held publicly accountable are what is needed,” said Marx.
Milnerton resident, Anele Mdepa, said: “This has been happening for years in Milnerton. Please attend to it urgently because this is a serious health hazard for nature and people living in the area.”
Community leader and Phoenix Ratepayers deputy chairperson, Mohau Kgolokwane, said the overwhelming pressure on the sewer system from residents and squatters in overpopulated informal settlements, through the use of illegal electricity connections and sewage facilities, created the problem of sewer overflow and pollution of the Woodbridge canal.
“This not only impacts our quality of life, but also our environment,” said Kgolokwane.
The City has been issued a series of directives by the Green Scorpions to remedy this water pollution, and Badroodien said work was continuing to progressively achieve full compliance with Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning requirements, with ongoing oversight through monthly public reports to local sub-councils.
Badroodien said a big issue being addressed was sewer blockages in hotspots, including Khayelitsha, Phoenix/Joe Slovo, Dunoon, Wallacedene, Wesbank and Montrose Park.
“Over the next three years, more than R10 billion of the City’s R29 billion capital expenditure plan will be invested in water and sanitation infrastructure to support sustainable development, of which R1.6 billion is specifically for conveying sewage,” said Badroodien.