The City of Cape Town’s Water and Sanitation Directorate is making strides to reach its target of replacing 26 000 metres of sewer pipeline by the end of June 2022, and has budgeted R85.5 million for the Sewer Pipe Replacement Programme for the 2021/2022 financial year.
The Sewer Pipe Replacement Programme invests in City infrastructure to help provide healthy environments for residents as well as accommodating urban growth, and this is one segment of the City’s “Sewer Master Plan”, with other priority programmes including pump station maintenance and repair, the pump replacement programme and illegal connection investigations.
Over the past 10 years, the City has invested over R1 billion in the Sewer Pipe Replacement Programme, replacing 235 689 meters of pipeline city-wide. The end of February 2022 already saw more than 14 100 metres of sewer pipelines replaced for this financial year.
Sewer pipes have already been replaced in Goodwood, Glencairn, Muizenberg, Kraaifontein and Philippi. Work is currently being executed or planned for in Kalkfontein, Wallacedene, Kraaifontein, Gugulethu, Joe Slovo, Khayelitsha Site C, Delft, Milnerton, Cape Flats, Atlantis, Makhaza, Bellville and Kuyasa.
“Cape Town has more than 9 million meters of sewer pipeline servicing properties across the city. This is about the distance from Cape Town to France by aeroplane. As a growing city, it is important for our Water and Sanitation Directorate to proactively maintain, rehabilitate, replace and upsize sewer pipelines to help provide healthy environments for our residents and help prevent sewer blockages and overflows,” said Councillor Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation.
The City considers various factors when identifying and prioritising pipes for replacement. These factors include doing a comprehensive condition assessment, the Sewer Master Plan, which identifies possible capacity upgrades, structural failures reported/logged by the public and depots as well as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping. GIS is a database that captures the City’s existing services information and includes pipe sizes, locations, manholes and house connections.
Badroodien believes that about 75 percent of overflows would not occur if residents used sewers correctly. Here’s how you can help to prevent sewer blockages:
- Only flush toilet paper and human waste;
- Refrain from pouring fats and oils down sinks;
- Throw away other unwanted items like litter, material or rubble into open drains.
“The City is running a campaign called Bin it, Don’t block it to raise awareness on how to prevent sewer overflows, and we are calling on communities to educate themselves and their peers. At the end of the day it is residents who pay for the work to remove sewer blockages, and this money could be used for other purposes in the community,” Badroodien adds.
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Picture: Supplied