The City of Cape Town’s Water and Sanitation Department is working to minimise the sewer overflows in parts of Browns Farm resulting from a collapsed sewer in Ubuntu Street. During this time, the team will continue to use suction trucks to relieve sewer lines, and sanitise the affected streets while due processes are being finalised to appoint a contractor for repairs. Read more below:

The cause of the sewer collapse, which occurred in June, will be established once the repair takes place.

The City is currently using suction trucks to relieve the line, and is cleaning and disinfecting the affected streets on an ongoing basis. If all goes as planned, a contractor will be appointed to do repairs by the end of this month. There may still be some overflows until then, especially in rainy weather, but these are being minimised by efforts on the ground.

Currently, the City does not have means in-house to repair this pipeline due to its depth and the complexity of the job. The pipe is four meters deep and the water table is very high, meaning that specialised dewatering mechanisms will be required. Capacity is being built to undertake these repairs in-house in future.

Before repairs can begin, the City may require engagement with local community structures to assist with being the repair team’s eyes, as a precautionary measure, while focusing on carrying out the work. Law Enforcement is only able to accompany the teams based on their availability, and community involvement can help repairs take place more quickly.

The City thanks residents for their patience and regrets the inconvenience caused during this time.

Residents can help prevent sewer blockages and overflows

Residents can do their part to avoid sewer blockages, by ensuring they only flush human waste and toilet paper, and do not remove manhole covers.

Although this case is caused by a collapsed pipe, the main cause of sewer overflows city-wide is disposal and flushing of foreign objects into sewers, which creates blockages.

The most common cause of blockages is cloth rags and fats from cooking. Fats which are washed off our dishes cool and harden on the inside of pipes, making them smaller over time, and acting like glue to everything that flows past, including rags which are commonly flushed down toilets.

In addition, chances of overflows increase when it rains because residents have illegally connected rain gutters to the sewers. This floods the sewers in the area which are already straining from dumping of foreign objects and fats.

The City will continue to respond to blockages as they are reported. Residents are encouraged to use one of the channels available to log a service request and to report blockages:

(Please provide the street address, and get a reference number)

Online www.capetown.gov.za/servicerequests

Email water@capetown.gov.za

SMS 31373 (maximum 160 characters. Standard rates apply)

Call 0860 103 089

Visit a City walk-in centre (see www.capetown.gov.za/facilities to find the one closest to you)

Source: City Of Cape Town