City monitoring Atlantic Seaboard water quality after 'emergency' sewage release

The City of Cape Town is taking water samples to monitor the quality of water on the Atlantic Seaboard after an 'emergency' sewage release into the ocean.

This followed the failure of two pumps at the Green Point Marine Outfall just after they'd been returned from maintenance.

At the same time, two other pumps had been removed for maintenance.

This meant that, on 25 September, just one of six pumps at the Outfall was operational, Councillor Zahid Badroodien posted on social media.

Badroodien said a second pump had since been repaired and reinstalled, so only two pumps were active at the time of his update.

"Unfortunately, due to the failure of these pumps, an emergency discharge into the ocean was unavoidable. This discharge occurred during peak operating hours, as the remaining pumps could not handle the incoming volumes."

Zahid Badroodien, Mayco Member: Water & Sanitation, City of Cape Town

Badroodein said signage would be put up to inform the public, and they would continue taking water samples to monitor the situation closely.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment has been informed, and a Section 30 Notice has been submitted in line with regulations, he added.