A heated debate over the cleanliness of Cape Town’s iconic beaches, including those in Strand and Gordon’s Bay, has erupted between a citizen science group and the City of Cape Town.
The controversy centres on a report released by Project Blue, an independent research initiative, which revealed alarming levels of bacterial contamination at several popular swimming spots.
Project Blue’s findings, based on water samples collected between 4 November and 6 December 2024, indicated that numerous beaches exceeded safety limits for E.coli and Enterococci, bacteria commonly found in faecal matter.
“Exceedances were noted in 42% of the sample dates for the Table Bay side of the survey, while for the False Bay side the exceedances occurred for 38% of the sample dates,” the report stated.
These findings have raised serious concerns about public health.
This has a potential impact on the city’s thriving tourism industry.
The municipality has vehemently disputed Project Blue’s findings, maintaining that its own rigorous testing, conducted by SANAS-accredited laboratories, consistently demonstrates safe water quality at all designated swimming areas.
“Of 297 water samples at designated swimming areas across the City’s 30 most popular coastal recreational nodes, a full 100% were within recreational use thresholds over the festive season,” the City said in a statement.
It criticised Project Blue’s methodology, questioning the accreditation of the laboratories used for analysis and suggesting that the sampling locations are not representative.
“A significant portion of Project Blue’s limited sampling was at known chronically polluted locations at the Soet River Mouth in Strand and Lagoon Beach in Milnerton, which are, in fact, closed for recreational use,” the City stated.
Eddie Andrews, deputy mayor and Mayoral Committee member for Spatial Planning and Environment, added: “Where specific pollution incidents are identified, the City responds swiftly to address the pollution source, installs warning signage, and takes water samples until results show it’s safe to swim again.”
But Project Blue defended its research, asserting that the laboratories employed for the Table Bay analysis, including AL Abbott, are indeed SANAS-accredited for the specific testing conducted.
“AL Abbott, the laboratory used for Table Bay analysis, including Camps Bay and Clifton 4th Beach, is SANAS-accredited for both E.coli and Enterococci in saline water,” said Caroline Marx on behalf of Project Blue.
Dave Bryant, DA Western Cape spokesperson on Local Government and Environmental Affairs, demanded a public apology from Project Blue.
“The claims made by Project Blue have not only caused unnecessary alarm among residents and visitors, but have also threatened Cape Town’s reputation as a world-class coastal destination,” he said.
“The potential negative impact on tourism-related businesses, which are vital to the local economy and support thousands of livelihoods, cannot be understated.”
