Cape Town - In recent weeks, the City has been under scrutiny for continuing its historic practice of pumping sewage into the ocean via its marine outfalls in Hout Bay, Camps Bay and Green Point.
This was exacerbated by pictures doing the rounds on social media of floating sewage, sanitary pads and more at the Green Point outfall.
To set the record straight on the matter, the City yesterday conducted an oversight visit 1.7km out to sea to the Green Point marine outfall point and refuted claims that the sewage disposed of at its marine outfalls was not being properly screened.
Alex Lansdowne, chairperson of the mayoral advisory committee on water quality in wetlands and waterways, said to debunk “misinformation” an oversight visit was conducted together with City coastal management officials and councillor Matthew Kempthorne, the chairperson of subcouncil 16 from Camps Bay to Milnerton.
“During the visit no signs of water discolouration or solid waste were observed. The coastline was visibly healthy and ecologically functional. We observed a Sunfish, various species of oceanic birds, and a breaching southern right whale within the vicinity of the marine outfall,” Lansdowne said.
He added no solid waste or raw sewage was discharged from the marine outfalls and before reaching the ocean, the effluent got categorised as “preliminary treated sewage” through a series of 20mm and 3mm screens that filtered all solid material, which then gets disposed of at landfill facilities.
Kempthorne said: “We have to concentrate on where the real problems are, which is at wastewater treatment plants as the City has grown rapidly over the past 15 years with millions of people coming in,” Kempthorne said.
Through the City’s mayoral priority programme on inland water quality and sanitation, R18 billion has been budgeted over the next decade to upgrade the largest wastewater treatment plants. The City has also commissioned a feasibility study into technologies and treatments to further improve the quality of discharge at its outfalls.
The pictures of the floating sewage circulating on social media were taken by Michelle Wasserman, provincial chairperson of ActionSA, during a kayaking ride from Three Anchor Bay to the exit point of the Green Point sewage outfall on Monday. Wasserman found islands of floating sewage.
“The sight of islands of slimy, brown sewage floating in the ocean, with seagulls all around and a seal playing nearby, is absolutely heart-breaking.
Kayakers reported that some of the sewage had, that morning, drifted into Granger Bay,” Wasserman said.
ActionSA is appealing to the DFFE (against the decision) to grant the City a coastal water discharge permit.
The National Sea Rescue Institute has also appealed against the granting of permits at all three outfalls.
Professor of chemistry at UWC, Leslie Petrik, said: “One has to remember that even when the volume of sewage being discharged was much smaller, the marine outfalls were already contentious because of the numerous recorded instances of disease epidemics directly related to raw sewage exposure over the years.”
