CAPE TOWN - With water-sampling results confirming e-coli levels in Rietvlei are generally within the guidelines for intermediate recreational contact, the City is preparing to issue a Protected Area Notice to reopen the vlei to the public.
In a statement, the City said it had arranged a joint water-quality sampling event at Rietvlei with the National Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), the SA Bureau of Standards (SABS) and the Milnerton Aquatic Club (MAC) on February 3.
The joint sampling follows the MAC, based at Rietvlei, presenting independent water quality results to the City. The City said these results differed from the results received from the City’s scientific services laboratory for the same period.
“The water sampling results from comparative laboratory results have confirmed that the e-coli results in Rietvlei are generally within the guidelines for intermediate recreational contact. As a result, the City is preparing to issue the Protected Area Notice to reopen the vlei.”
The City said further investigation was needed to understand the different results obtained by the City’s laboratory and the club, and to determine whether these are associated with any health risks to Rietvlei users.
The City said mayco member for water and sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, and City officials met with representatives from MAC to discuss the outcome of the joint water-quality sampling event, the interventions the City is undertaking, and the way forward.
“Standardised quality control testing and inter-laboratory comparison is conducted on the City’s test results on an ongoing basis, and shows that the correct standards are being met. The City is investigating what exactly informed the differences between the samples of different stakeholders in the case of Rietvlei,” Badroodien said.
The environmental management department which manages the Table Bay Nature Reserve is to issue a Protected Area Notice to regular users of Rietvlei, including members of the Protected Area advisory committee to confirm the opening of the waterbody.
The City has allocated funding to investigate the remediation options for Rietvlei, and in the meantime will continue with the selective removal of algae and pondweed to lower the nutrient load and improve easy access into the vlei via the slipways.
These operations are set to continue until at least mid-March, 2022.
Cape Times