{"id":268967,"date":"2025-09-25T08:05:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T06:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/?p=268967"},"modified":"2025-09-25T08:05:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T06:05:25","slug":"soet-river-canal-meeting-chaos-heated-discussions-over-polluted-waterway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/soet-river-canal-meeting-chaos-heated-discussions-over-polluted-waterway\/","title":{"rendered":"Soet River canal meeting chaos: Heated discussions over polluted waterway"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A recent community meeting regarding the polluted Soet River canal has revealed a sharp divide between a group of residents and City of Cape Town officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The residents left the meeting feeling &#8220;bitterly disappointed&#8221; on Tuesday 16 September, claiming their health concerns were ignored in favour of a technical, jargon-filled report. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They allege the municipality gives preferential treatment to wealthier areas, while their community faces dire health risks from the stench of sewage and rodent infestations (&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/soet-river-canal-swarms-spark-health-concerns-20250305\/\">Soet River canal: &#8216;Swarms&#8217; spark health concerns<\/a>&#8220;, DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette, 5 March).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The newly formed Helderberg Residents Concerned Group (HRCG) is calling for urgent mayoral intervention and an immediate, large-scale clean-up, insisting that a full canalisation project is the only long-term solution. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They also expressed anger over what they see as misplaced budget priorities, with City funds being allocated to beachfront beautification projects instead of their crisis. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Poorer households, who already shoulder the burden of electricity, water, and service charges, are effectively subsidising a city that treats them as second-class citizens,&#8221; a HRCG spokesperson said.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The chairperson of the Soetriver Catchment Management Forum, Dave Walker, who is a Greenways resident, was accused of dominating the meeting&#8217;s decisions and not addressing the situation faced by surrounding communities. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Frustrations escalated when Councillor Chantal Cerfontein reportedly walked out of the meeting following heated exchanges.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When asked for comment, Cerfontein stated that the meeting was hosted by the City&#8217;s Water and Sanitation directorate and the Soetriver Catchment Management Forum, emphasising that the presentations were &#8220;very detailed and clear&#8221; on the functions and progress made to date. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Residents need to start taking ownership of their surroundings and stop with the blame game,&#8221; Cerfontein said. &#8220;They are responsible for the conditions of our rivers and canals through constant dumping.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cerfontein claimed to have made numerous attempts to organise community clean-up operations, but says her requests &#8220;always fall on deaf ears and nobody pitches&#8221;. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-attachment-id=\"268968\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/soet-river-canal-meeting-chaos-heated-discussions-over-polluted-waterway\/soet_65486\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/soet_65486.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,800\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"The smelly Soet River canal on the corner of Onverwacht Road and Broadway Boulevard in Strand.\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;The smelly Soet River canal on the corner of Onverwacht Road and Broadway Boulevard in Strand.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;The smelly Soet River canal on the corner of Onverwacht Road and Broadway Boulevard in Strand befpre the clean u&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/soet_65486-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/soet_65486-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"The smelly Soet River canal on the corner of Onverwacht Road and Broadway Boulevard in Strand.\" class=\"wp-image-268968\" srcset=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/soet_65486-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/soet_65486-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/soet_65486-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/soet_65486.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The smelly Soet River canal on the corner of Onverwacht Road and Broadway Boulevard in Strand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>She added that previous attempts to beautify the area with tree plantings were met with vandalism. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She commended Walker for his efforts to bring in outside resources to assist with cleaning and reducing illegal dumping (&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/soet-river-saga-turning-the-tide-on-pollution-20240807-2\/\">Soet River saga: Turning the tide on pollution<\/a>&#8220;, 7 August 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien, also weighed in: &#8220;The City is aware of the concerns raised by residents along the Soet River and takes these matters very seriously.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Badroodien explained that pollution in urban waterways is a &#8220;complex challenge that requires joint responsibility, long-term investment, and ongoing community cooperation&#8221;.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Approached for a response to the allegations against him, Walker reiterated that he does not have any authority and only coordinates with officials. &#8220;I was at the first meeting when the forum was initiated and was elected chairperson, but the chairperson can be removed at any time, and whoever wants to take over has a clear path to do so,&#8221; he said. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Walker also reaffirmed that the entire community wants the same thing \u2013 a clean river. &#8220;Our approach may differ but only on technical grounds,&#8221; he said. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Badroodien mentioned the installation of solid waste interceptors and increased cleaning by teams to remove illegal dumping and litter. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The City also monitors blockages and maintains collaborative structures with ward councillors and the Soetriver Catchment Management Forum, Badroodien related. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The City strongly rejects any suggestion that certain communities are being prioritised over others,&#8221; Badroodien asserted. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He further explained that river pollution is largely due to illegal dumping, sewer misuse, and stormwater inflows, which must be addressed across the entire catchment. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He identified the &#8220;densely-populated illegal informal settlement within the N2 road reserve&#8221; as a significant contributor to sewage pollution, calling this situation &#8220;completely out of the City&#8217;s control&#8221;.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regarding the call for a full-scale canalisation project, Badroodien acknowledged the request, but cautioned that such projects require &#8220;extensive feasibility, environmental impact assessments, and significant budget allocations&#8221;.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the meantime, he said, the City will continue with short- and medium-term measures and encourages residents to report issues through official channels and actively participate in the Soetriver Catchment Management Forum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent community meeting regarding the polluted Soet River canal has revealed a sharp divide between a group of residents and City of Cape Town officials.<\/p>\n<p>The residents left the meeting feeling &#8220;bitterly disappointed&#8221; on Tuesday 16 September, claiming their health concerns were ignored in favour of a technical, jargon-filled 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smelly Soet River canal on the corner of Onverwacht Road and Broadway Boulevard in Strand.","article_media_icon":"1","article_template":"news","author_byline":"Yaseen Gaffar","background_color":"","block_editor":"1","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"Soet River canal meeting 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This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Soet River canal meeting chaos: Heated discussions over polluted waterway | DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/soet-river-canal-meeting-chaos-heated-discussions-over-polluted-waterway\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Soet River canal meeting chaos: Heated discussions over polluted waterway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A recent community meeting regarding the polluted Soet River canal has revealed a sharp divide between a group of residents and City of Cape Town officials. The residents left the meeting feeling &quot;bitterly disappointed&quot; on Tuesday 16 September, claiming their health concerns were ignored in favour of a technical, jargon-filled report.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/soet-river-canal-meeting-chaos-heated-discussions-over-polluted-waterway\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/districtmail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-25T06:05:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-25T06:05:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/soet_65486.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Yaseen Gaffar\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@district_mail\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@district_mail\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/soet-river-canal-meeting-chaos-heated-discussions-over-polluted-waterway\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/soet-river-canal-meeting-chaos-heated-discussions-over-polluted-waterway\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a2d643edb30d8c9b5b3d47ab5d6f934e\"},\"headline\":\"Soet River canal meeting chaos: Heated discussions over polluted waterway\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-25T06:05:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-25T06:05:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/soet-river-canal-meeting-chaos-heated-discussions-over-polluted-waterway\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":695,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/soet-river-canal-meeting-chaos-heated-discussions-over-polluted-waterway\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/soet_65486.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Local News\",\"Pollution\",\"Soet River\",\"Top\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/soet-river-canal-meeting-chaos-heated-discussions-over-polluted-waterway\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/soet-river-canal-meeting-chaos-heated-discussions-over-polluted-waterway\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/soet-river-canal-meeting-chaos-heated-discussions-over-polluted-waterway\\\/\",\"name\":\"Soet River canal meeting chaos: Heated discussions over polluted waterway | DistrictMail &amp; 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