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The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation has urged municipalities to adopt best practices that are used by the City of Cape Town (COCT) in managing wastewater to ensure a sustainable and cleaner environment.
 
The committee received a briefing from both the Department of Water and Sanitation and the City of Cape Town and is of the view that struggling municipalities across the country can engage the COCT for benchmarking purposes for them to turn the tide of poor waste water management.
 
“The Department of Water and Sanitation together with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs must encourage municipalities to interact and resolve this old challenge in the country. It is only through collaboration and sharing of best practice that communities will be saved from overflowing untreated water into the environment which has a negative impact on the ecosystem,” said Mr Leon Basson, the Chairperson of the committee.
 
While the committee acknowledged that the COCT is in a much better place regarding revenue collection and availability of resources including workforce as workers prefer working in urban settings, planning and better waste water management should not depend on revenue base.
 
The standard set by the COCT, especially its forward-looking model of infrastructure development and maintenance should be adopted by all municipalities. The committee was informed that the City has a 20-year capital investment programme which will assist it to plan better and channel resources towards infrastructure development and maintenance. “The investment of an estimated R 6.1 billion Capital investment programme over the next 10-year period is a welcomed initiative and will ensure increased access and better management of the system,” Mr Basson emphasised.
 
The committee was also encouraged by the City’s willingness to adopt new technologies in its waste water system that will improve efficiency and reduce sewer spillages. The adoption of the SMART grid, CCTV inspections and Control Room will ensure swift response to spillages and ensure operational efficiency.
 
Despite this, the committee raised concerns that that Green Drop report found that three of the 26 WWTW in the City were receiving sewage above their capacity, namely Gordons Bay, Zandvliet, and Klipheuwel Waste Water Treatment Works. The committee has called for the City to ensure increased focus on these WWTW to increase capacity of the works to ensure that it produces complaint effluent.
 
Furthermore, the committee has urged communities to desist from throwing foreign objects into the system as this has a negative impact on the functionality and efficacy of the system. “The resources wasted in removing these foreign objects can better be utilised in maintaining the system thereby ensuring a much functional system.” Mr Basson emphasised. The committee has called for improved communication and public awareness through community engagement to reduce these challenges.
 
The committee also welcomed the assurance that the City is actively working with the department and is responsive to notices issued by the department with cogent corrective action where there is a need. “A collaborative effort is necessary to resolve challenges where they exist, and other municipalities must follow this example as it is the only thing that will prevent escalation of challenges,” Mr Basson said.
 
It is important, according to the committee, that municipalities play their legislatively mandated roles to reverse the worsening sewage pollution in the country. If this is not achieved, the risk of water-borne diseases, intolerable living conditions for communities who live with raw sewage flows, environmental damage and the economic impact caused by declined tourism numbers and inability to export locally produced food increases. “We cannot afford to continue on this trajectory, urgent action is required,” Mr Basson concluded.

Issued by the Parliamentary communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation, Leon Basson