Cape Town - The approval of new developments in Table View has raised the hackles of residents concerned that new dwellings would have an adverse effect on the already strained Potsdam waste water treatment works, negatively impacting the environment.
Greater Table View Action Forum member David Ayres said: “We have enclosed a file of a City presentation around the current capacity of the Potsdam waste water treatment works. This shows that the plant is operating beyond its capacity by a mind-blowing 10 megalitres per day. It also confirms that the plant was not designed for the current flows.
“Following our interactions with the engineers working for the City’s Water and Sanitation, it is our opinion that land use applications will be reviewed in terms of waste water capacity but planning applications will not.”
According to Ayres they are concerned that the Potsdam Plant will not cope with the additional load.
“The result of this would be more illegal polluting of the Diep River. Given that the Potsdam Plant is currently over capacity and given that the upgrade to this plant will only be ready by 2025,” he said.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) conducted during testing of the Diep River system which have raised questions about the City’s competency in managing effluent discharge at Potsdam Wastewater Treatment Works. According to Outa, samples taken last month showed an extremely high E coli level of 8.4 million parts per 100ml. Since the beginning of the year, Outa has been sampling water at strategic points along the Diep River Estuary, which includes the Milnerton Lagoon, after residents raised concerns about the water quality.
At the time, Mayco member for water and waste services Xanthea Limberg said the November sample Outa took cannot be claimed to reflect final effluent quality at Potsdam. Last month, the Department of Local Government and Environmental Affairs’ law enforcement agency, or “Green Scorpions”, issued a directive to the City in terms of the National Environmental Management Act nearly 10 months after the province asked the City for a detailed plan to clean up the pollution in the affected areas.
The department took action after a warning was issued in February by Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell.
Ward councillor for the area Joy McCarthy said: “This has been my issue since the beginning of the year, the Potsdam Wastewater Treatment Works infrastructure is old and outdated and developments could have a potential impact on this.
“However, the City can reject building plans, but there are certain rights on the property which make it hard for the City not to grant rezoning permission.”
McCarthy said the informal settlement Dunoon, which is close to the area, could also be the reason.
Limberg added: “It must be noted that there are multiple sources of pollution impacting the lagoon – most notably the impact of land invasions in parts of the catchment, where service delivery is often constrained by factors beyond the City’s control. There is also pollution coming in from agricultural activities outside the City’s boundaries.
“Furthermore severe and ongoing contravention of by-laws relating to use of sewers by residents in the area plays a significant role in increasing pollution. Sewer blockages caused by dumping of inappropriate materials into the system often lead to overflows, which then enter the stormwater system which feeds into the natural waterways,” she said.
“City teams attend to reported blockages, pulling a range of materials from the system to normalise flow, but blockages will continue to occur for as long as this practise persists.”
Cape Argus