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The City of Cape Town has unveiled its plan to deal with the 32 million litres of raw sewage that is now being discharged into the Atlantic Ocean every day.

This follows a public uproar over the massive sewage plumes floating off the coast, notably at Camps Bay, where more than two million litres of ‘sieved raw sewage’ are dumped into the sea every day.

Camps Bay is not the only section of the coast being pumped full of poop, with the two other marine outfalls at Greenpoint and Hout Bay also identified as pollution hotspots.

Speaking on Voice Of Cape Town Breakfast on Wednesday, Mayco Member for Water and Sanitation Zahid Badroodien said the city was now “exploring short, medium, and long-term options to treat the sewage being pumped into the ocean.”

“For a long time, the marine outfalls have been a controversial issue, where the scientific community and the civic associations in the area have really called upon the city to be mindful of the sensitive nature of that particular marine environment.”

Badroodien stated that in the medium term, the city might consider extending the present marine outfall pipes, which range in length from 1.35km to 2.1km. However, because of the layout of Camps Bay and Hout Bay, the actual discharge places are only around 700 metres from the shore.

In the long term, the city is exploring the idea of pumping sewage from all three areas to various existing wastewater treatment works, such as Potsdam in Milnerton, Cape Flats in Strandfontein, Athlone, and Wildevoelvlei in Kommetjie.

The rapid growth of Cape Town over the last two decades has put a strain on its infrastructure, so there are no quick fixes. But at least they have a plan.

[source:vocfm]