The Lourens River and its polluted state came under the spotlight again this week.
Irked locals turned to the newspaper and City of Cape Town bemoaning the offensive stench of sewage emanating from the 20 km-long water river, which flows from the Hottentots Holland mountains through Somerset West into False Bay waters at Strand. In addition to general waste strewn along and disposed of in the river, sewerage spillages, which are more frequent due to load shedding and burst pipes as result of blockages, make matters worse.
Exacerbating the pollution problem is the increasing number of vagrants who set up camp along the river banks.
The health risks and adverse environmental impacts are a cause for valid concern. And, while dedicated conservationists champions conservation efforts and municipal departments are tasked to remedy the dire situation by ramping up cleaning efforts, the reality is it’s every resident’s duty to help curb pollution and keep the Helderberg’s beautiful water resource clean.
