Cape Town - Residents of Milnerton have decided to haul the City to court for its failure to address the water contamination at Lagoon Beach.
Milnerton Canoe Club chairperson Richard Allen said: “It was a unanimous decision at a meeting held a month ago at Milnerton Library with the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) representative, ratepayers associations and us. There is a follow-up meeting tomorrow (today) with Outa.”
Among some of the concerns residents have are sewage spills, ageing infrastructure, rampant development and growing numbers of backyard dwellers.
The reserve, which is managed by the City, has about 880 hectares of land comprising a variety of permanent and seasonal wetlands, and is surrounded by Cape Flats dune Strandveld and Cape Flats sand fynbos vegetation.
“Promises were made that haven’t been kept to upgrade the systems and ‘a blue lagoon soon’ was promised in 2017. There’s a stench over the entire lagoon area, litter fallout on the beaches and health risks to beach-goers. Last week the stench was terrible. Residents have been contacting all the area representatives,” said Allen.
According to the City, the vast majority of sewer overflows were caused by misuse of the system, rather than capacity constraints. The City has identified Montague Gardens, Dunoon, Doornbach and Phoenix as major contributors to the pollution of the lagoons, and has developed preliminary plans to intercept and divert water from the two main canals serving these areas. “They don’t have anywhere to dispose of their grey water, so a ‘night bucket’ is used and emptied in the street, which then enters the Diep River via storm water drains.
“Someone isn’t doing their job to put the promised diversions in place. Only 60% of the water and sanitation budget has been spent so it can’t be a funding problem,” he said.
“The health of the community is at stake. Hundreds of kids will be swimming in the ‘safety’ of the lagoon during the holidays. The signs are useless to prevent this,” he said.
Caroline Marx, from the environmental portfolio of Milnerton Central Residents Association, said: “I have asked for an urgent meeting with the mayor as I have had little feedback or action from a July meeting with (Mayco member for water and waste) Xanthea Limberg.
“Little action has been taken for five years despite steadily worsening contamination and five years of meetings and promises. And the current situation is absolutely inexcusable and a public health hazard.”
Outa chief executive Wayne Duvenage said: “We are exploring options to work with, help and empower local residents’ associations around the country to challenge the shortcomings of local government.
“The project that the Milnerton Residents association have in mind is being assessed.”
Limberg said: “The key message is that the vast majority of pollution incidents occur due to the misuse/abuse of the City’s sewer and stormwater systems, as well as theft and vandalism of its infrastructure, rather than a lack of maintenance or lack of capacity.”
@MarvinCharles17