Cape Town – The service provision by the City and delayed upgrades to its wastewater treatment works is to blame for effluent running into the water at Monwabisi Beach, a popular fishing spot.
This, according to UWC senior researcher Professor Leslie Petrik, also poses serious health risks.
A concerned jogger recently recorded footage of what appeared to be effluent running on to the beach and into the sea there. He then alerted the Cape Times.
Following Cape Times queries, the City has erected signage warning of a potential pollution risk and samples of water have been collected at Monwabisi for testing, according to Mayco member for water and waste services Xanthea Limberg.
The results would be sent to the City’s scientific services department.
Limberg said stormwater staff were sent to investigate, and reported that it was not a sewage spill, but effluent emanating from a stormwater system in a built-up area.
“This is a mix of grey water and effluent disposed of into the stormwater system and streams.”
She blamed “unprecedented numbers of land invasions” in recent years, and one of the biggest newly established settlements, New Monwabisi.
Limberg said thousands of new structures have been built on sand dunes, which made it difficult to install permanent water and sanitation infrastructure.
“The City has been working to roll out chemical toilets, and taps, but there are still many informal residents and backyard dwellers who are disposing of grey water and effluent into the stormwater system.”
She said “land invasions reached extreme intensity in 2018”, and the City was unable to prevent occupation at sites “due to capacity constraints”.
Petrik said it was disingenuous of the City to blame only stormwater and poorly serviced settlements for the effluent spillage.
“Monwabisi Beach and most of False Bay are severely impacted by sewage effluent and certainly the City’s own monitoring shows excessively high microbial counts over many years along the bay,” Petrik said.
A concerned jogger recently recorded footage of what appeared to be effluent running on to the beach and into the sea at Monwabisi beach. Video: Supplied
“Due to our ever-growing population and very tardy service provision and very delayed upgrades by the City to the wastewater treatment works that discharge into the False Bay environment, we are facing a serious health issue.
"The bacterial counts are high and our beaches are very unsanitary, thus unsafe.”
She said this was also evident at Milnerton Lagoon.
Raw sewage pollution there, which has affected the operations of a local canoe club, was recently reported by concerned Milnerton residents.
The Milnerton Canoe Club said it was unable to run a beginner or development programme due to risk of youngsters falling into the water.
“A few signs warning people is not adequate. The City has singularly failed to provide adequate sewerage and our coast is significantly affected by sewage and effluent.
"Also, even if the City claims it is ‘only’ grey water, grey water is also dangerous from a health point of view as it is also full of many different bacteria and many toxic chemical compounds,” Petrik said.
Reacting to Limberg’s statement, the jogger, who asked that his name be withheld, said: “This is a complete lie.
“How can she blame the informal settlement that was established last year for a problem that has existed for years?
“The fact that they have erected the signage after newspapers enquired about it is beyond shocking and is proof that they are either ignorant because it’s Monwabisi or don’t know what they are doing.”
Interim director at the Future Water Institute at UCT, Dr Kirsty Carden, said while effluent was undoubtedly contaminated, it was not possible to state what impact it had on the ecosystem and people’s health without access to the results of testing.
“There are ongoing challenges related to the contamination of urban waterways within the City, mainly as a result of the complex nature of informal settlements and the difficulties in providing suitable water, sanitation and drainage services.”