I am a concerned resident of Ward 109 in Macassar and am writing to express my deep frustration and growing distress, shared by many in our community, regarding a significant health hazard that has been ignored by our councillor. This issue involves a persistent foul and putrid smell that has returned to our area, posing serious air pollution and health risks.
This problem has plagued our community since last year. Despite numerous emails and complaints from residents, the situation remains unresolved. Although the matter seemed to have been addressed for a brief period, the unbearable stench has resurfaced, and our councillor’s response has been utterly inadequate. We now feel continuously ignored by the very person supposed to represent us.
The smell is not only intolerable, but also a serious health concern, especially for our elderly and vulnerable residents. It attracts an overwhelming number of flies, disrupts daily life, and makes it impossible for residents to have guests over without embarrassment. The poor air quality leads to nausea, loss of appetite and an increased risk for those with respiratory issues.
We have reached out to the councillor numerous times, but our complaints have been dismissed, redirected to the City of Cape Town Service Request System, and largely ignored. Despite having multiple platforms to communicate with the community, the councillor has failed to address this issue through these channels, demonstrating an alarming disregard for our concerns.
As a community we are desperate for action and cannot afford to be ignored any longer. We urge immediate intervention and support in resolving this matter for the well-being of all residents.
Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee member for Water and Sanitation, responds: “The City of Cape Town is aware of the foul odour being experienced intermittently in Macassar and takes the matter seriously to improve the quality of life for residents. It was brought to the Water and Sanitation Directorate’s attention by Ward 109 councillor Peter Helfrich in 2023, following reports from the community.
“The Water and Sanitation Water Pollution Control team has undertaken an extensive investigation in the area since 6 December 2023, looking into water and sanitation infrastructure, land and water pollution, wind directions, the Macassar wetland and more.
“The investigation was concluded on 14 November 2024 in a report. The key outcomes included:
- All Water and Sanitation infrastructure have been inspected on several occasions throughout the investigation with no reportable offensive odours apart from expected odours. These would include odours at pump stations around 15 m away, expected odours at the Macassar and Zandvliet wastewater treatment work and natural odours at smaller stormwater canals in Macassar residential area.
- No water quality results prompted [the need for] immediate investigation.
- The Macassar residential area does have an issue of solid waste littering and higher than usual agricultural (livestock) activities all contributing to foul odours in the general Macassar area.
- The intermittent nature of complaints combined with the wide geographic extent could group several independent complaints of foul odours under the same umbrella complaint, being foul odours in the greater Macassar area.
“Furthermore, it was mentioned during the meeting that the smell could also be emanating from Kleinvlei canal running next to [the resident’s] property, which suffers from human behaviours including littering, illegal dumping, human defecation directly into the canal, and so forth.
“We assure residents that this matter is a priority and we hope to resolve it.”
