The letter “Learners reveal beach’s off-season neglect” published in last week’s edition of DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette garnered insightful responses from two council departments.
Councillor Patricia van der Ross, Mayoral Committee member for Community Services and Health, commented: “The recreation and parks department notes the length of the Blue Flag Season in Cape Town is limited to summer, as winter attracts much fewer visitors and bathers to the beaches.
“With more than 300 km of coastline and a huge number of bathing beaches (10 of which are Blue Flag), it is not sustainable to have year-round Blue Flag status, especially with regard to the appointment of lifeguards (one of the minimum requirements) at a huge cost to the City of Cape Town.
“That, however, does not mean the department lets standards slip during the ‘off-season’. The minimum maintenance standards with regard to beach amenities remain exactly the same all year. Additionally, vandalism and theft are a massive scourge in the City, and the department is continuously maintaining and managing facilities to the required standards to ensure accessibility to patrons.
“As part of the effort to maintain amenity standards throughout the year, the department performs ongoing facility checks to monitor standards and takes required action where needed.”
Alderman Eddie Andrews, deputy mayor and Mayoral Committee member for Spatial Planning and Environment, responded: “During rainfall events significant volumes of run-off reaches the coastline through the stormwater system, canals, and rivers.
“The run-off has an impact on the coastal water quality, as this is untreated water that reaches the ocean. The quality will improve once the weather system has passed, and the run-off has circulated from the False Bay into the wider ocean through wave action and wind.”
He said while the City had work to do improving infrastructure, residents also had a part to play in improving the health of waterways:. Do not allow your roof water to be channelled directly to the road. Rather direct it into your flowerbeds or onto your lawn, or collect it in rainwater tanks for later use. If you are space-limited you may still be able to dig a ditch and line it with stones placed on top of a geotextile (a product available from hardware stores designed to prevent soil and stones from mixing) to create a “French drain”, i.e. a structure designed to infiltrate water into the ground.. Do not overfertilise and/or overwater your garden, as nutrient-laden water will find its way onto the road and into the drainage system.. Do not discharge surplus swimming pool water – with its chlorine and dirt load – into the road (it is illegal in any case). Rather find an alternative place on your property where it can at least be filtered as it infiltrates into the ground.. Ensure litter is placed in litter bins – preferably recycled – and properly removed. With the best intentions in the world it is unreasonable to expect the municipal rubbish removal personnel to account for every last packet when they come and empty your wheelie bins, particularly after the vagrants have picked their way through them. You will likely need to clean up after everyone has gone.. Ensure you never put anything down the toilet that will not immediately disintegrate. Stockings, for example, are incredibly strong when twisted – and can stop a sewer pump with ease, risking a sewer overflow into the drainage system.. Take care to ensure any contractors working for you – perhaps on a new extension to your home – take the construction rubble to approved disposal sites. You would be shocked to know how often construction rubble simply gets dumped in open fields – or sometimes even directly in open canals and streams – as the contractor tries to save money for themselves at the cost of the environment.. Ensure your workplace also takes responsibility for stormwater drainage. Every year, the City battles with multiple illegal discharges of highly polluting liquids from companies unwilling to pay the price of having their waste properly treated and removed.
