GOOD Statement by Mark Rountree,
GOOD National Policy Officer
25 October 2021
Mark Rountree, GOOD’s National Policy Officer and former Chair of the Western Cape Wetlands Forum, welcomes further action to reign in pollution of Cape Town’s rivers and wetlands. Minister Creecy has confirmed that Environment Management Inspectors from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) have been instructed to incorporate the monitoring and enforcement of protection of Cape Town’s wetlands into the National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Campaign.
After years of ongoing pollution incidents in Cape Town, where it seemed that the Western Cape’s political head of Environment, Anton Bredell, was reluctant to act in response to the City of Cape Town, Rountree escalated his concerns to the relevant National Departments. “For more than 2 years, the rivers and wetlands around Milnerton in Cape Town have been subjected to ongoing sewage releases. Then in 2021, the wetlands in False Bay Nature Reserve began to also be repeatedly polluted by sewage” says Rountree.
Ongoing pollution incidents have caused:
- Rietvlei to be closed for recreational water activities since June 2021.
- Zeekoevlei, a large wetland in the False Bay wetland system, is also closed, even though high rainfall this year should have diluted any pollution, and
- On Friday, the 22nd October, the City of Cape Town informed residents that “all aquatic sections of the Zandvlei Nature Reserve” are closed due to yet further sewage pollution in that wetland.
The Western Cape’s wetlands are amongst the most sensitive to pollution in South Africa because they are situated within largely low-nutrient fynbos environments. Some wetlands, such as those in the False Bay Nature Reserve, have been designated internationally important RAMSAR wetlands. These wetlands are extremely sensitive to pollution from nutrients in wastewater.
In June, Ms Susanne Yarcher, a Chemical Engineer from Envirosense in Cape Town, reported that a massive sewer had flowed for nearly a week into Zeekoevlei.
Following these and many other incidents of overflowing sewers, Rountree escalated his concerns to the responsible National Ministers. On the 7th of July, Rountree wrote to both the National Minister of Water and Sanitation, then-Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, and Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), Minister Creecy, requesting those departments act to protect Cape Town’s communities and their wetlands.
Minister Creecy’s office immediately acknowledged the complaint and within 24 hours the Green Scorpions visited the affected wetlands and confirmed that “significant pollution of the environment has been caused” as a result of sewage discharges. The City of Cape Town was issued with a Pre-Directive pertaining to the pollution incidents in the False Bay Nature Reserve and was due to have submitted a rehabilitation plan, including remedial measures to remedy the pollution that has already occurred and to take action to prevent future incidents.
Furthermore, on the 30th of July, the National Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) confirmed that their own investigations had resulted in administrative action being initiated by them against the City of Cape Town for the pollution transgressions.
Mr Mashudu Murovhi, the National Department of Water and Sanitation’s Director of Western Cape Provincial Operations, said that DWS had initiated “administrative enforcement against the City of Cape Town (City), and is in the process of ensuring that the City improves its compliance with relevant water use licence(s) conditions as well as technical requirements relating to its management of some of its infrastructure.”
Rountree explained that “wetlands are amongst the most at-risk ecosystems in the world. Cape Town has many famous wetlands and estuaries, some are designated as wetlands of international importance. Estuaries in particular are critical environments because, aside from the recreational use in our cities, estuaries are the environments where many commercially valuable fish species breed. Without healthy estuaries, our economically important fishery industry would decline.”
Cape Town’s latest Inland Water Quality Report notes rapidly worsening water quality in the Diep River, Southern Peninsula, Soet River, Sir Lowry’s Pass and Salt River systems in 2019 as compared with the preceding 2015-2018 period. “I had hoped that the efforts of the DFFE and DWS would have encouraged Xanthea Limberg to improve the water quality of these rivers back to the improvements that the City’s data show were achieved during Patricia de Lille’s term as Mayor” said Rountree.
Unfortunately, despite these actions from the DFFE and DWS, the pollution incidents have continued unabated.
Cape Town residents may assist this compliance and enforcement campaign by emailing evidence of river and wetland pollution incidents to complaints@environment.gov.za or call the toll-free 24hotline on 0800 205 005.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Mr Mark Rountree, GOOD National Policy Officer
Cell: 082 880 4393
Email:markr@forgood.org.za
Ms Karabo Tledima, GOOD Media Manager
Cell: 061 794 3819
Email: karabot@forgood.org.za