Cape Town’s ageing sanitation network and the city’s response to its growing infrastructure challenges came under the spotlight at last week’s City Council meeting.
Cape Independence Party (CAPEXIT) councillor Karl Bodin commended the water and sanitation directorate for its efforts under difficult conditions but warned that chronic underperformance and slow maintenance were pushing the city’s sanitation system toward potential collapse. Speaking during the noting of the directorate’s latest report, Bodin cautioned that the consequences of inaction could be severe, affecting public health, vulnerable communities, and the city’s coastal environment.
At this rate, it would take approximately 74 years to replace the entire system.
“While we thank the directorate for the work carried out under very trying circumstances, it’s time we ripped off the band-aid and exposed the wounds,” he stated. “Excuses flow like the untreated effluent spilling into our bays.”
Bodin focused on the alarmingly slow pace of sewer pipeline replacement, a cornerstone of any sustainable sanitation network. The report celebrates the replacement of 115 km of sewer pipe as “above target”, yet when measured against the city’s vast 9 000 km network of aging pipes, much of it installed before 1994 and increasingly strained by population growth and neglect, this represents just 1,3% renewed per year.
‘Managed decline’ masked as progress
“At this rate, it would take approximately 74 years to replace the entire system,” he emphasised. “That’s not maintenance; that’s managed decline. By 2099, our grandchildren would still be inheriting pipes bursting under pressure and spewing filth into our streets, waterways, and coastal waters.”
He says the human toll is most visible in communities such as Khayelitsha, Dunoon, and across the Cape Flats, where residents endure unsanitary conditions. “Children play in contaminated puddles, and families fall ill from waterborne diseases. This is unacceptable,” he said, describing it as a form of environmental injustice.
His sharpest criticism was directed at the “true outrage” of marine outfalls — over 40 million litres of untreated or partially treated sewage discharged daily into the Atlantic Ocean from outfall points at Green Point, Camps Bay, and Hout Bay.
“This toxic deluge poisons our beaches, endangers marine life, and undermines Cape Town’s reputation as a world-class destination,” he stated.
The party called for urgent and decisive intervention. “For the sake of our health, a sustainable environment, and a city that deserves to shine, not stink.”
City defends its record
According to the City’s Mayco member for water and sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien, Cape Town replaced more than 1% of its sewer network in 2024-’25, nearly exceeding global norms.
“The City’s 1,3% replacement rate places Cape Town in line with international best practice and within the same league as developed nations. Modern pipe infrastructure has design lifespans of 50-100 years, depending on the materials used,” he told TygerBurger.
“Since the start of this political term, the City has quadrupled its pipe replacement programme, reaching 117km replaced in 2024-’25, the highest in a decade. This aggressive schedule is delivering results, with declining water bursts and sewer overflow trends documented.
It is of the greatest concern that some communities still see sewer overflows in their streets and we cannot rest until we have addressed and fixed that problem.
“It is of the greatest concern that some communities still see sewer overflows in their streets and we cannot rest until we have addressed and fixed that problem, replacing and upgrading identified pipes where capacity is restricted to ensure no one must endure that indignity.”
He says most sewer overflows are caused by foreign objects entering the system through misuse. “The City has carried out well over 400km of preventative maintenance of the sewer systems, specifically in the areas prone to incorrect use. The City installs and upgrades pump stations, screens, sand traps and litter grids to reduce these impacts.
“Contrary to claims of inaction, the City is actively addressing marine outfalls through a comprehensive, multi-phase programme. The implementation of the options currently being investigated are subject to budget availability and the outcome of feasibility studies.”
He says R160 million was allocated for the refurbishment of all three marine outfalls at Green Point, Camps Bay and Hout Bay, where work has already begun.
