A tense standoff is developing between Strand residents and local authorities over persistent pollution at the De Ruyter Street pump station.

While community members insist that raw sewage is actively flooding the facility, the City of Cape Town has clarified that the stormwater station is fighting an upstream pollution battle.

Residents living near the facility have reported an escalation in stagnant, foul-smelling water pooling in the vicinity, which many believe is linked to the ongoing Trappies bulk sewer infrastructure upgrades nearby.

Confronted with mounting complaints and video evidence captured by residents over the past weekend, Mayoral Committee member for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, sought to clear the air regarding the station’s technical design.

“The De Ruyter Street pump station is an automated stormwater pump station, not a sewer pump station,” Badroodien stated. “It receives water from the stormwater system and helps to prevent flooding. The City is not aware of any recent sewer overflows that could have impacted the station directly, and there are no technical failures at the site.”

Badroodien confirmed that the station is currently in full working order, using a two-pump system comprising one active duty pump and one backup standby pump.

While recent heavy rains put the infrastructure to the test, operations remained stable.

“The branch is aware of a foreign object that has entered the pump station, which may have affected the standby pump. Technicians have been assigned to investigate, but this is not affecting regular operations.”

Badroodien added that no additional capital funds have had to be redirected toward repairs at the site.

Despite the City’s assurances that facility itself is functionally sound, municipal officials concede that the real issue lies further up the line.

Following a barrage of reference numbers and complaints filed by the community, Water and Sanitation teams launched a wide-scale field investigation last Monday (18 May).

Teams monitored and inspected several surrounding roads, including Herchel, Enslin, Union, Joubert, Faganand Thompson streets.

While inspectors found no active sewer overflows on those streets during the layout inspection, the City is treating the contaminated stormwater seriously.

“The water the station receives originates upstream, which can see various contaminants entering the flow from multiple sources,” Badroodien explained.

Badroodien stressed that the City is actively rolling out initiatives to steadily track down and seal off any illegal or accidental pollution streams.