Contrasting accounts have emerged surrounding the status of the Geelsloot sewage rehabilitation project, with residents and environmental advocates raising concerns over structural collapses and misaligned pipes, while the City of Cape Town maintains the primary phase of work was successfully completed as scheduled.

Concerns over project delays and structural setbacks surfaced after locals spoke directly to contract workers on site near Jakaranda Street. According to accounts shared within community forums, contractors initially made good progress, but operations hit an obstacle further downstream.

“The supervisor told me they cannot continue from Jakaranda downstream as there are structural challenges,” one resident shared, appealing to City representatives for clarification.

“The river has eroded the bank, resulting in the sewer line bending… causing ‘wonky pipes’ and some sections actually having to flow uphill.”

Residents reported that river-bank erosion had destabilised the sewer line, causing pipes to bend and misalign. As a result, sewage reportedly pools in low-lying sections, surcharging until sufficient hydraulic pressure builds up to push the effluent over the elevation barrier.

Water-quality ambassador Jamii Hamlin echoed these concerns, noting that the absence of an appointed community liaison officer (CLO) has left the community in the dark, fuelling conflicting reports about actual project progress.

Hamlin pointed out that broader environmental conditions had reduced natural water ingress. “In constrained networks such as Geelsloot or Ou Trappies this lack of flow typically exacerbates pipe blockages and surcharging, polluting local waterways,” he said.

Addressing community allegations

On enquiry, Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee member for Water and Sanitation, presented a starkly different account of the project’s timeline, asserting that the targeted rehabilitation work was already complete.

He said the specific works project running adjacent to the Geelsloot between Jakaranda Street and Main Road commenced on Monday 20 April and was completed without delays on Tuesday 30 June.

In this period municipal contractors replaced and rehabilitated 1 012 m of 160 mm diameter sewer lines and 577 m of 300 mm diameter sewer lines, Badroodien added.

Addressing community allegations regarding potential contractor corruption or tender friction, Badroodien said the municipality is completely unaware of any bribery claims or disputes and that no operational challenges were encountered with the primary contractor.

Regarding claims of “wonky pipes” and sewage flowing uphill, Badroodien clarified that the City had previously repaired a section of the river bank that was washed away during heavy rain in a prior season. He confirmed that the repaired pipeline experienced no operational failures during the 2025-’26 financial year (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026).

“The directorate is not aware of sections that are flowing uphill,” Badroodien stated, adding that Water and Sanitation teams would nevertheless inspect the area to evaluate river-bank stabilisation.

“We are yet to receive any major complaints of sewer overflows along the Geelsloot compared to previous years during the same winter period.”

Looking forward, Badroodien said the municipality is preparing a separate infrastructure intervention. The Water and Sanitation Directorate plans to advertise a new tender in January next year to pipe-crack and upsize the sewer line along Libertas Street, aimed at permanently closing the overflow into the Geelsloot sewer network.

The City has also announced that overpumping operations commenced in nearby Strand on Monday (27 July) through the end of November to facilitate cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) lining, scheduled for installation between mid-September and the end of this year.