Goodwood residents are confronted with various sewage problems.
According to one resident, his neighbour’s sewage spills over into his garden.
And it smells, all the toilet paper of the neighbour is now in his yard and on the pavement. According to the 78-year-old, this is not the first time this has happened.
In another incident, in Murray Street, the drains have been overflowing for two weeks already. They are located near a bakery in the area and residents are concerned about the health risks involved.
According to Zahid Badroodien, Mayco member for water and sanitation, the City’s water and sanitation teams were aware of these issues and had cleared the blockage causing various sewer spills in the area.
“Following this, they also disinfected the affected areas,” he said.
Badroodien stated the cause of the blockage was sand and builders’ rubble that had entered the sewer network.
The City had recently upgraded pipes in the Goodwood area, so surely this should have prevented such incidents from occurring?” TygerBurger enquired.
Badroodien replied that the City’s sewerage infrastructure was designed to handle only human waste and toilet paper. This means new infrastructure will still become blocked if people dump cooking fats, food, oils, sanitary items, sand, rubble and so on down the toilets or drains, as they are not designed for this.
Help prevent sewer blockages
A press release earlier this month by the City of Cape Town states that about 80% of the sewer overflows are because of human behaviour, where items such as rags, feminine hygiene products, builders’ rubble, litter, fats and oils, and even cutlery are illegally dumped into the network via toilets, sinks and manholes.
“The City has even removed a TV and car parts from our sewer lines,” said Badroodien.
“These waste items should not be in the sewer network, and when they are they cause sewers to overflow into our streets.”
He said during winter this kind of behaviour contributes to overflows. Generally, the sewer system is already dealing with foreign items that are flushed and poured down sinks and drains, causing blockages and overflows, occurrences that can be avoided. During heavy rains overflows increase because of illegal dumping of debris, sand, rubble and so on that also wash into the sewer network system via open manholes, where covers have been stolen or damaged. Coupled with this, more rainwater enters via these open manholes and from illegal stormwater-to-sewer cross-connections on one’s property, where water is channelled from roofs, gutters and paved or hard yard surface areas into sewer drains.
Be mindful of what you flush
All these factors contribute to blockages or reduce the capacity of the pipes to convey wastewater and damage infrastructure such as pump stations, resulting in overflows and flooding.
“We urge residents in Cape Town to play their part by being mindful of what is being flushed, poured down drains and sinks and how they dispose of their waste,” Badroodien said. “Let’s work together to ensure our sewer network functions efficiently, which will greatly assist in reducing overflows on our streets this winter.”
