Stormwater ponds are extremely important to prevent flooding of homes and roads during the downpours. The main purpose of a stormwater pond is to collect rain water, or stormwater runoff, that runs over impermeable surfaces such as parking lots, roads, and buildings. But when the infrastructure is vandalised, it causes tragedy and misery for the surrounding communities.
Two stormwater ponds situated along Hout Bay Main Road below Imizamo Yethu have been vandalised yet again, and children who have been able to gain access to these ponds because of the vandalised gates are using it as swimming pools, the City of Cape Town explains.
This is a safety hazard as the water is not treated and therefore unsuitable for swimming and recreational use, and children are also at risk of drowning. “I also want to appeal to the residents and parents to please ensure that their children stay away from these ponds for their own safety,” Mayco Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas said.
Even though the City of Cape Town’s Road Infrastructure Management Department manages these ponds, they cannot keep up with the vandalism and illegal dumping as it undermines their efforts to maintain order.
“This is not the first time that the infrastructure around the ponds have been vandalised. It has happened several times and each time we have to fix the gates, which is also a waste of public funds,” Quintas adds.
You can use the following channels to report vandalism:
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Transport Information Centre (TIC) on 080 065 6463. This is a 24/7 information centre and free from a landline or a cell phone.
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Send an email to [email protected]
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Please ensure that you include your name, contact number and the exact location of the incident. It is very important to ensure that the details of the location are 100% correct, as this will improve the response time.
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Picture: City of Cape Town