Vandalism of valves at the Athlone Wastewater Treatment Works is behind a spate of sewer overflows in the Rylands Estate and Gatesville over the past week. City of Cape Town teams repaired the valves on Friday 18 June, but the fault caused blockages that the City is still working to clear.
Residents are advised that vandalism to valves at the Athlone Wastewater Treatment Works is behind the sewer overflows currently occurring in Hazel Road and Ashraf Avenue, Gatesville, and the increase in sewer overflows in the area last week.
Currently the Cape Flats 2 sewer main is out of service for planned maintenance. The damage from attempted theft last week caused a problem with closing the valve which stops sewage from flowing into this system. Furthermore, the thieves caused the valve which control flow into the treatment works to become stuck in the closed position.
The City has planned the sewer network in the area to have plenty of spare capacity, but with one main sewer already out of commission, this was not sufficient to contain overflows when valves were damaged.
Teams managed to restore valves to working order on Friday, however the period of downtime for the valves caused foreign objects to build up in the surrounding pipes, creating stubborn blockages which staff are still working to clear.
Currently, City teams are vacuuming sewage from the mixing chamber in Hazel Road and the overflowing manholes downstream to try and minimise the overflows.
In the interim, the public is advised to please avoid contact with the overflowing sewage as far as possible due to avoid health risks.
‘This is yet another example of how theft and vandalism of public infrastructure can impact the health and well-being of our communities. We call on anyone with information on who could be behind this to report it to SAPS,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Waste, Alderman Xanthea Limberg.
Source: City Of Cape Town