The City of Cape Town believes that the strange objects found dumped into the Swartklip Road sewer pipeline are the result of sabotage.
The City says its Water and Sanitation Directorate is in an “ongoing battle” to clear repeated blockages.
Foreign items such as rocks, tires, planks, and even pillows and car seats have already been retrieved from this particular pipeline.
This has resulted in regular sewer overflows in areas like Montrose Park, aka The Farm, Swartklip Road, and parts of Tafelsig.
According to ward councillor Avron Plaatjies the City’s Water and Sanitation teams have worked tirelessly to remove blockages from the main line in Swartklip.
“This situation goes beyond ordinary misuse or accidents; we are dealing with acts of deliberate sabotage.
“It is inconceivable that such objects could accidentally find their way into our sewer system through regular use,” Plaatjies says.
“These are intentional acts of sabotage against our community, causing significant disruption and posing health risks.”
Lockable covers have been placed over important manholes to prevent additional vandalism.
But vandals continue to use the concrete cracks surrounding the covers as a means of accessing the sewers.
Large rocks that had been thrown into the manhole had to be removed, which took a lot of manpower during the most recent cleanup effort.
Further suspicions were raised by the discovery of items like pillows and car seats.
Mayoral committee member for water and sanitation Zahid Badroodien urged residents to piemp the vandals when they see objects being dumped into the sewer pipeline.
“Residents can call on local law enforcement if they witness any damage being done to the raised manholes,” Badroodien said.
Tafelsig councillor Norman Adonis says he has received a ton of requests for help with sewage problems at his office.
“They get the service and claim I do nothing but then they are the people that are sabotaging the system, all of the stuff that doesn’t belong in the drain gets thrown in,” Adonis adds.
byron.lukas@inl.co.za