Cape Town - Residents of Sandvlei near Macassar are pleading with the City of Cape Town to stop pumping raw sewage into the Kuils River as it overflows into their community.
The close-knit community has hit out at the City as the stench and overflow of faeces is keeping residents hostage.
The residents said the Zandvliet Wastewater Treatment plant pumps the dirty water into the river which becomes a problem during the summer and winter.
Nazeem Anthony said that he was furious as it was a recurring problem every year.
“As a resident of Sandvlei, I’m upset because nothing is happening from the City’s side. Every year it’s the same thing.
“There have been no changes and it doesn’t seem that there will be changes anytime soon,” he said.
Nazeem said that the water has caused serious problems for some of his animals and livestock.
“My horse just walked outside and then had an allergic reaction to the water. He was full of bumps.”
Pastor Mark Baatjies, a community leader from Sandvlei, said Mayco member for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, visited the area two weeks ago but nothing came from it.
“He didn’t come with a strategic plan. He came here because he was forced to come. He said he would come back with a response but still nothing,” he said.
At a visit yesterday Baatjies pointed out where the sewage water is pumping from.
“The sewage floods into the homes because the rivers are polluted. The people who live there suffer because the sewage runs into their place,” Baatjies says.
Heavy floods swept through informal Sandvlei in September, forcing more than 60 residents to temporarily relocate to the Macassar Civic Centre.
Badroodien, however, said was not raw sewerage and that the City was aware of the concerns raised by residents regarding the issue.
“Water from the Zandvliet Wastewater Treatment Works is treated effluent which is the final water after the raw sewage has been treated biologically in multi-stage processes and the sludge separated for removal offsite.
“This is the accepted norm for treating wastewater. The final effluent, which is compliant, is discharged to the river. It is not raw sewage,” he said.
Last year, the upgrade to the Zandvliet facility expanded its capacity of wastewater by 18 million litres a day, resulting in a daily total of 90 million litres a day.
“Also note that since the upgrade of the Zandvliet WWTW, the quality of the final effluent has improved substantially,” Badroodien added.
“The City will arrange a meeting with the community to address their concerns. The details of the meeting will be confirmed at a later stage.”
