Outrage over sewage spills in one of South Africa’s most popular areas

A complaint against the City of Cape Town (CoCT) has been submitted to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) following repeated sewage spills in Hout Bay.

PR councillor Karl Bodin filed the complaint after raw sewage was found overflowing at Hout Bay Sports Complex.

Days earlier, sewage reportedly flooded the basketball court, where children played among faeces and toilet paper. “This is not a one-off, this is a crisis,” said the CapeXit councillor.

Bodin emphasised that many unserved residents are forced to use stormwater drains, polluting local rivers and the ocean.

Cape Town’s sewage treatment isn’t coping: scientists are worried about what the city is telling the public, echoed such sewage concerns.

Authored by Prof Leslie Petrik, Dr Cecilia Yejide Ojemaye, Prof Lesley Green, Dr Jo Barnes, Dr Nikiwe Solomon, and Dr Vanessa Farr, it noted that “the city discharges more than 40 megalitres of raw sewage directly into the Atlantic Ocean every day.”

“In addition, large volumes of poorly treated sewage and runoff from shack settlements enter rivers and from there into both the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans.”

Another study by Petrik and Ojemaye noted that there are three “marine outfall pipelines” that pump untreated sewage directly from toilets and drains into the ocean via underwater pipelines.

“These results, which echo findings of our previous studies in two other Cape Town marine environments, Camps Bay and Sea Point, point to major flaws in the city’s wastewater treatment plants,” said Petrik.

“Urgent action is needed to address these issues and limit the many different chemical compounds and pollutants poured into marine environments.”

City of Cape Town’s wastewater plants

According to the DWS, the CoCT owns and operates a total of 26 WWTWs. The systems range in size from 10 to 200,000kl/day.

The treatment plants are meant to clean the water enough that it can safely go into rivers, canals, the ocean, or other water bodies.

The most recent DWS Green Drop Report finds Cape Town’s wastewater operations generally stable, with many performing well above countrywide average.

However, several plants, Zandvliet (113.2%), Borcherd’s Quarry (103.2%), and Potsdam (94%), were over capacity in 2023.

The report noted that effluent quality is inconsistent, with poor microbiological compliance at multiple sites; Potsdam performed worst, failing eight parameters.

Several other plants also had multiple noncompliance notices, risking environmental and community health. Upgrades and improvements have since commenced and are ongoing.

The City points to quarterly Public Advisory Forum meetings where “long-term alternatives to marine outfalls” are discussed, and monitoring data is shared, which shows some levels of improvement.

City of Cape Town response

The CoCT told Newsday it has “extensive and arguably the most detailed marine environmental monitoring programme in the country over the last 10 years.”

This includes dispersion modelling, sediment analysis, marine species tissue sampling, biodiversity surveys, and water and pollutant testing.

According to the City, this programme has found that “no significant environmental and marine impacts have been detected or measured” beyond an initial mixing zone.

The city said that a lot of the problem comes from urban rivers, impacted by informal waste, stormwater, and domestic animals waste.

To address infrastructure, the City has allocated R1.5 billion in its 2025/2026 Water and Sanitation budget to replace aging sewer infrastructure.

MMC for Water and Sanitation Zahid Badroodien told Newsday that R355 million is earmarked specifically for sewer network replacement across the city, “of which Hout Bay has also benefited during this financial year.”

A long-term plan for Hout Bay includes possibly upgrading the 300mm sewer pipe along the Disa River to a 525mm pipeline to accommodate increased flow. This is subject to a feasibility study, projected for 2028/2029.

Badroodien cited several root causes of sewer blockages and overflows: unplanned growth in informal settlements, stormwater-to-sewer cross connections, the dumping of foreign objects, and illegal informal connections.

He said short-term measures, such as dedicated resources, inspections, and education campaigns, have already reduced blockages.

Additional pumps, improved screens, stormwater outlet modifications, and illegal connection removals are planned.

Working with the Hout Bay Rivers Catchment Forum, the City invested R2 million in a 2021–2023 study, resulting in the Hout Bay Pollution Abatement Strategy and Action Plan (PASAP).

Described as a “powerful tool,” PASAP is reviewed quarterly with the community, targeting root causes.

The City reports a “steady improvement in the water quality” and the return of aquatic life.