WHILE the City is fighting with a civil society organisation over the cleaning of raw sewage and sludge which have polluted the picturesque Milnerton Lagoon, a score of disgruntled residents have complained that they are battling to breathe and getting sick.
After a fresh sewage spillage last week, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said it "had enough" and that it now reserves its right to institute legal action in an attempt to remedy the situation. It will inform the City hereof in the next “week or two.”
According to Outa, the lagoon, where the Diep River enters the sea, has alarming unsafe levels of E.coli and intestinal enterococci -- a 100 times more than is permissible.
Intestinal enterococci are indicators of the presence of fecal material in water.
Outa has commissioned water tests for more than a year in the area and found that levels of E.coli at the Erica Road outlet range between 17 to 70 million. Any amount above 400 counts in a raw water source is a cause of concern. For drinking water the amount must be zero.
E.coli causes a range of conditions, the most common being simple diarrhoea from which most people make a swift recovery, as per Dr Angelique Coetzee, member of the Solidarity Doctors Forum advisory board.
"I had to take my son to the doctor, he was completely blocked-up," said resident Avron Herr.
"I believe it's because of the untenable stench," Herr said, adding that he "all of a sudden" felt sick as well.
"I hardly get sick, but now I'm blocked up, it has to be the sewage smell."
Herr, who is a local business owner, said nothing helps to dissipate the smells.
"All my doors are locked, even my windows," he said. "It's everywhere, it really is an untenable stench."
Senior lecturer from the Department of Global Health at Stellenbosch University, Dr Jo Barnes told Weekend Argus that it's not uncommon for effluvium to cause difficulty breathing or discomfort in the sinus canal.
"Your body reacts to this dreadful stench as a warning system, so yes, some people are affected by it," Barnes said.
"The stuffy nose and other common flu symptoms will go away once you remove yourself from the affected area."
Barnes further stated that E.coli has a lot of ecological implications.
“It affect(s) the marine life. Even if it may not make the particular fish, for instance, oysters ill they carry that organism and when they are harvested for food then it can make the people who eat that ill.”
A pregnant Milnerton resident said she was also affected by the foul odour and, as a result, experienced “weird” symptoms.
“We first got stuffy noses, we live right on the lagoon on Woodbridge Drive, and I’m pregnant (as well),” she told Weekend Argus.
“That smell is making me more nauseous once it enters the house.”
The resident added: “Residents would love to know what they are pumping into the estuaries across the road from Milnerton High on a daily basis?”
The City’s Pierre Gertenbach said they were pumping water out of the lagoon, not in.
“We are pumping sewage out of the outfall into the sewer system. The reeds at the outfall create a natural berm that catches the water.”
Gertenbach’s counterpart, Alex Lansdowne said: “The ecological health of Milnerton Lagoon, and the Diep River Catchment, are obviously not where we want it to be... This is why we are committed towards rehabilitating the vlei, and reducing pollution, for environment and the surrounding communities.”
An irate local Rian Zietsman went so far as to sent an email to the City that read: “There has been an intolerably disgusting stench in the air... It feels like a final "F you” to us as citizens of this country to have our air stink as well... We, the rate payers of Milnerton, deserve better.“
Zietsman was still waiting for a response.
Another resident Steven Casper said: “My wife and I are coughing and spluttering away... No question it’s affecting our health.”
A Milnerton denizen Amie Bishop said she can’t sleep due to the stench.
“We find it so difficult to fall asleep due to the stench... it’s sickening... most afternoons we come home and the air (stinks).”
A few other residents have their arms up in the air because as much as they want this fixed, media reports about it decreases their chances of selling or getting tenants.
Mayco member for Water and Sanitation Zahid Badroodien urged residents to report symptoms to their doctors.
“Residents are encouraged to visit their closest health centre to report their symptoms.
“Any medical diagnosis made by a health professional linking their symptoms to an incident must be brought to the attention of city health for further investigation.”
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis conceded that the plant may emit an occasional odour.
"It has always had a bit of an odour - for 30 years or more,“ he said.
"I’ve grown up living near Potsdam my whole life, and still do.“
Badroodien said they responded to last week’s spillage at Koeberg station by sand-bagging the Theo Marais canal and over-pumping.
During last month’s heavy rains Potsdam Wastewater Treatment Works also received permission from the Department of Water and Sanitation to release water from the reed beds into the Theo Marais Canal which releases water into the Diep River Catchment.
Outa's Dr Ferrial Adam said the sewage problem should have been resolved a long time ago.
“There has to be an immediate solution for this ongoing problem, maybe the City should consider pumping 24/7 at certain sites,” said Adam.
Currently, there are two pumping stations, Phoenix and Milky Way which have received updates to limit overflows to the lagoon.
However, over-pumping (transferring sewage from the Erica Road Outfall back into the Sewer System on a 24-hour cycle) has been intermittent because the service provider was suspended due to the unreliability of pumping.
The City said they would ensure that pumping takes place between 8am and 5pm. But load shedding also affects pump stations.
"Eskom disruptions lead to pump station failures where generators are not present which may lead to overflows,“ Badroodien said.
“Our officials attend to these by pumping wet well levels low enough in order to allow for any overflows. We also ensure quick response to over flows by over pumping where necessary. The over pumping is generally only done at the key larger pump stations when their back-up generators/power don’t kick in.”
The City is also establishing a lower Diep River Catchment Forum to expand transparency and communication with residents and affected stakeholders by August 2022.
The Mother City also said that it would be investing R1,6 billion in water and sanitation infrastructure, including wastewater treatment plants such as Potsdam, pump stations and the sewer pipe replacement programme.
Outa argued that the City is not working fast enough.
"Outa therefore reserves its right to institute legal action against the City of Cape Town for their preserved non-compliance with their Water Use License (regarding Potsdam WWTW) and its preserved non-compliance regarding the directive issued by the department of Environmental Law Enforcement,“ Adam said.
The GOOD Party’s Brett Herron said Outa’s threat to institute legal action is nothing but hot air.
“They should stop threatening and start doing,” Herron said.
“The City is underinvested in water and sanitation infrastructure and prioritising the wrong things.
“The Milnerton Lagoon area is affected by the rapid expansion of the Du Noon township that was created and not properly serviced in terms of water and sanitation infrastructure. We know the water pressure is very low, the sanitation system is not large enough and it’s an area that is overpopulated.
“That whole drainage basin is in trouble because of an underinvestment in infrastructure,” Herron said.
The Western Cape’s directorate for Environmental Law Enforcement in 2020 found that overflows and spillages into the Diep River and Milnerton Lagoon was “unacceptable and undesirable,” as it deteriorated the water quality and caused significant pollution and degradation of the aquatic and marine environment.
“The water in the Milnerton lagoon was dark and discoloured, with foul odours emanating from it,” read the directive, seen by Weekend Argus.
“The sediment in the lagoon was dark grey/black in colour, which suggests the sediment may be hypoxic (oxygen deprived), coupled with the poor water quality which may cause significant harm to estuarine organisms and coastal environment.”
The directive further stated: “Further observations revealed that the stormwater outlets, flowing into the Milnerton Lagoon transmitted large amounts of solid waste which have accumulated along the water's edge and mouths of the stormwater outlets.”
The National Environmental Management Act makes it is an offence to unlawfully and intentionally or negligently commit any act or omission which causes or is likely to cause significant pollution and/or degradation of the environment.
Conviction of the above offences are liable to a fine not exceeding R10 million or to imprisonment for up to 10 years, or to both according to the Act.
But Badroodien insists they met all the requirements of the directive.