The decision taken by the City of Cape Town’s tender appeals authority to dismiss appeals that would delay much-needed upgrades to Potsdam Wastewater Treatment Works (PWWTW) has been welcomed by many.
The development of this plant has been delayed for over 10 years due to appeals by bidders.
These upgrades are among the largest infrastructure projects undertaken by the City, valued at R5 billion.
In a recent statement issued by the City, it was explained there are two major contracts which were awarded and would be responsible for upgrading the plant’s capacity to process 100 million litres of wastewater per day.
At this stage, the treatment facility is only able to process 47 million litres per day, which means that the upgrades would more than double the plant’s current capacity.
Upgrades
The City is currently upgrading the Potsdam WWTW to increase its capacity to accommodate the urban growth in the area. Cutting-edge membrane technology is also being added to ensure high wastewater treatment standards.
Over the past year, the City has been doing remedial work at Potsdam WWTW that will result in treating effluent to a better quality. The City has also been implementing short-term interventions in the Milnerton Lagoon to help address diffuse sources of pollution.
According to Cayla Murray, DA constituency head for Blaauwberg-Durbanville 2, given the extent of pollution and environmental degradation faced by Milnerton Lagoon and its surrounds, this development mustn’t be delayed any longer by tender appeals.
“The upgrades will improve the surrounding waterbodies by producing cleaner effluent and will be supported by the City’s efforts to clean ponds and redesign natural reed beds, which help manage pollution,” she says.
“Efforts to restore the waterbodies are further being supported by a range of short-term interventions,” Murray says.
Going forward, the successful contracts will be on the City Council’s agenda in March as a part of its final statutory public participation process. This will be conducted before awards are made to the successful bidders.
“I have requested the provincial minister of environmental affairs, Anton Bredell, to provide an update on the province’s implementation of the Estuary Management Plan, which was sent to his department following its tabling at Council last year. I also look forward to, and encourage residents and stakeholders, to attend the next Quarterly Milnerton Lagoon Stakeholder meeting on 13 March,” Murray told TygerBurger.
Health risk
TygerBurger reported about environmentalist group ReThinkTheStink linking the Milnerton Lagoon pollution to the Potsdam WWTW after they commissioned independent water tests around the Potsdam WWTW.
They found effluent pouring out of an “official outlet” to contain an E. coli count of 1 560 000 cfu/100 ml and 2 140 000 cfu/100 ml from an “unofficial outlet”.
Residents have also been complaining about the ongoing foul smells in January, with accompanying health problems, such as nausea and headaches.
