Criminal charges has been lodged against the City of Cape Town, for allegedly allowing poop to stream into the water at popular Strandfontein pavilion.
The Cape Independent Party claims the City has neglected to address the “ongoing sewage pollution” affecting the long stretch of beach.
According to Capexit councillor, Karl Bodin, the City’s Water and Sanitation Department has not provided an acceptable plan to treat the raw sewage that gushes onto Strandfontein Beach.
Speaking outside the Strandfontein police station yesterday, Bodin said he visited the beach in March and noticed the raw sewage as well as sanitary pads, cotton wool, earbuds, and condoms.
He says: “There were members of the public fishing and walking their dogs close by the flow of the effluent.
“I didn’t notice any signage warning the public of the dangers or the potential for coming into contact with the flow of effluent.”
Bodin said he took samples and reported the matter to the mayor's office and received a reply from mayoral committee member for water and sanitation, Zahid Badroodien.
Bodin reveals: “Badroodien, in actual fact, ignored the results of the samples or analysis, and he rather focused on media articles and plans that will take place to improve the filtration of the sewage by the year 2030-31.”
He adds: “The sewage is supposed to be flowing into the maturation ponds where it’s supposed to be filtered prior to discharge to the ocean.
“These maturation ponds have not been in use for at least this year and the statements that it is not a raw sewage is false.”
Bodin said they’ve escalated the matter to the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), but decided to lay criminal charges against the City.
He says: “We are here at Strandfontein police station to register a criminal case docket for contraventions in terms of section 67, 69 and 79 of the National Environmental Health, Integrated Management Act of 2008 and that matter will then be investigated.”
The DFFE did not respond to queries.
Badroodien said the sewage outlet pipe referred to is the discharge point for the Mitchells Plain Wastewater Treatment Works, which was constructed in the mid-1970s and still operational.
He explains: “We accept that there are areas of chronic pollution due to various causes.
“However, we emphasise that there is no raw sewage discharged from the Mitchells Plain Wastewater Treatment Works. The discharge point referred to along the Strandfontein Coast discharges treated effluent.”
He said the outlet is not considered a recreational node for swimming, while there was signage to warn the public, adding: “Additionally, this plant is on our upgrade and capacity increase programme to be completed in 2030/31.
“On 9 July 2024, the City submitted its responses to the DFFE regarding the Notice of Intention to issue a Coastal Protection Notice to the City. The City is awaiting a formal response from DFFE on this matter.“
Police spokesperson Captain F.C. Van Wyk confirmed that a case under Section 69 Discharge Effluent into Coastal Waters without a permit was opened for investigation at Strandfontein SAPS.
"No arrest yet; investigations continue."