Cape Town - With changes to the City’s Water and Sanitation portfolio, the Milnerton Central Residents Association (MCRA) is hoping projects and plans to restore the water health at Milnerton Lagoon will start without delay.
The City has called on residents in and around the area to make submissions, preparing a Remediation Plan for the Milnerton Lagoon.
The water’s quality has been poor for years due to polluted water in the Diep River, which discharges into the lagoon.
The area recently experienced an incident of dead fish washing up, after about 500 fish washed up in March, causing greater public health risk and ecological damage concerns. The water is not suitable for recreational use.
Last month the City hosted the first Milnerton Lagoon quarterly meeting where it presented residents with a draft estuary management plan.
Former Mayco member for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, acknowledged that the Milnerton Lagoon ecosystem had collapsed and he was due to return to the community in November to provide feedback.
DA Constituency Head of Blaauwberg/Durbanville, Cayla Murray, said the purpose of the plan was to implement short-term actions.
“It will complement the Estuary Management Plan that was recently put out for public comment. This is a welcomed step in not only addressing this environmental challenge but will further assist in bolstering transparency,” said Murray.
Caroline Marx from the MCRA said residents have been pleading for urgent action. “MCRA will be submitting further suggestions and asks that others do the same as local knowledge is valuable.
Containing known pollution outflows with sandbags and pumping into sewer lines 24/7 , effective litter traps, and bioremediation of specific highly polluted areas are quick and relatively cheap interventions and yet two years later have still not been implemented.
“We hope that Dr Badroodien stepping down as Mayco member will not cause further delays because what is needed now is an urgent plan of action with firm timelines and accountability,” said Marx.
For submissions email [email protected], using the subject line: Milnerton Lagoon Remediation.
All submissions will be screened and assessed by the appointed team.
Cape Times