The City of Cape Town has embarked on an emergency cleaning project to clear the sewerage system in Philippi before the winter rains.
This comes after residents of Brown’s Farm, in Philippi, particularly those living in the vicinity of the Sheffield Road sewer main, suffered the effects of inappropriate objects being dumped into the sewerage system late last year. This prevented the sewage from flowing freely through the pipes, and resulted in frequent overflows, particularly during the periods of wet weather Cape Town experienced during this that time of year. The City has budgeted over R2 million to remove both blockages and potential blockages from the system. Thus far, the municipality says the volume of inappropriate substances has been alarming, with massive accumulations of rags and builders rubble being extracted on a weekly basis.Pipeline steadily being reclaimed
The removal of debris, silt and other inappropriate objects from the bulk sewer has, however, been showing positive results in that the intended capacity of the pipeline is steadily being reclaimed, the city adds.The City’s Water and Sanitation Department is planning to have this maintenance work completed over the next few months, in anticipation of the winter rains.
“We are considering strategically replacing existing manhole covers with lockable, vandal-proof covers in an attempt to reduce the risk of unwanted objects entering the sewer system,” says Ernest Sonnenberg the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Utility Services.
