The City of Cape Town has once again appealed to residents to help prevent sewer blockages by reporting illegal dumping and not flushing strange items down the toilet.

Tyres, rags, clothes, buckets full of teaspoons and forks, and even a TV and car parts are some of items recently removed by the City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate to clear Cape Town’s blocked sewer pipes.

Over the past financial year (July 2022 to June 2023) the City says it has spent about R417 million to help reduce and tackle blockages in Cape Town’s sewer system.

This includes both proactive measures, such as the City’s Winter Preparedness programme to jet-clean the sewer pipelines, and reactive cleaning costs, to clear sewer blockages as a result of illegal dumping and misuse of the sewer system.

Recently, spoons and forks were removed from a sewer in Mfuleni.

Last month, a mattress was pulled out of the sewer in Lavender Hill using specialised cleaning equipment.

The City says about four hours of effort through machine and manpower was required to manoeuvre and then extract the mattress from the sewer manhole.

Illegal dumping into sewer infrastructure is a city-wide problem, with the City’s Water and Sanitation teams clearing and cleaning over 300 sewer blockages and overflows a day as a result of this problem.

About 85% of these cases are the result of the misuse of the sewer system where items such as rags, feminine hygiene products, builders’ rubble, litter, fats and oils, and most recently, a mattress and cutlery, are illegally dumped into manholes or enter the system via sinks or by being flushed down toilets.

The City has even removed a TV and car parts from sewer lines.

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The Mayoral Committee member for Water and Sanitation Zahid Badroodien says residents need to be mindful of what they do with their waste.

‘Our toilets, sewer pipes and drains should not be treated like dirt bins or wishing wells. Waste that gets into the sewer pipe will block it and put strain on and damage the infrastructure related to the conveyance and treatment of sewage across the city such as pump stations which are very costly to repair.

 

‘While the City is actioning proactive measures to help reduce overflows, we also appeal to residents and community leaders to use the available resources on the City’s website to join in efforts to raise awareness about this issue and what all of us can to do prevent sewer blockages. The reality is the City cannot practically police what residents flush down the toilet or wash down their sinks, or put into drains, so it is up to communities to take responsibility. Let us work together to prevent sewer blockages.’

Badroodien has shared some ways in which residents can help reduce overflows:

• Don’t flush anything other than human waste and toilet paper. Anything else will block the pipes.
• Use the City’s solid waste services provided to get rid of your waste, not drains.
• Report sewer blockages and overflows using one of the City’s official channels. (See below)
• Report vandalism to the sewage reticulation system and stolen or missing sewer manhole covers.
• Use the City’s drop-off facilities to get rid of any solid waste.

Report water and sanitation-related service requests, such as sewers overflows, to one of the following channels:

• WhatsApp 060 018 1505

• Online: www.capetown.gov.za/servicerequests

• Email water@capetown.gov.za

• SMS 31373

• Call 0860 103 089