The City of Cape Town’s disaster risk management team and other departments were praised for their work during the storms that had hit the metropolitan earlier this month.

Councillors attending the Subcouncil 7 meeting on Wednesday 20 May at the council chambers at the municipal office complex in Durbanville, said the teams responded timously.

Ward 21 councillor Hendri Terblanche (DA) was the first to thank the City for the work done during the stormy weather, adding that teams were out fixing faulty electricity lines, removing trees that had fallen over and clearing flooded roads.

“People are quick to judge and critisise, but that is the time the teams are out, the City showed that they are ready and responsive,” Terblanche said.

Ward 1 councillor, Cheryl Visser (DA), also thanked local neighbourhood watch structures, residents and private security companies who helped clearing trees and branches during the storm.

Councillors also discussed the persistent overflowing issue with the storm water pipes across the city.

Theresa Uys, Ward 112 councillor, said that the public should be made aware not to dispose of wet wipes in pipes, as this is not biodegradable. Uys also said that homeowners and garden companies should be encouraged not to throw leaves in the the storm water pipes as it blocks it.

Epic System

Uys pointed out that during the storm period, the City Epic System — where the public can log service requests and report infrastructure damage, or accidents — received a record number of phone calls.

According to her, nearly 11 000 calls were received on one day — which equates to same amount of calls for a month. She said all staff were on duty during this period.

Uys explained that when people use the service, that they should not repeat the same request, that one is sufficient.

“Do not log more than that, as it only clogs up the system,” she said.

Uys said the City has a tool to see if a call has already been logged, and that residents should always have their reference numbers handy when logging a call.

“One call is sufficient,” she emphasised.

Uys said continuous education and cooperation is necessary, to ensure that people do not block drains and log calls incorrectly. She said teams in her ward are doing door-to-door campaigning on how to log a C3 notification. This service is available to any area, upon request, Uys said.

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