By Velani Ludidi 
Jul 10, 2021
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Cape Town – Flooding in Cape Town is often made to look like it affects informal settlements only, but the recent heavy rains have shown that suburban homes are affected, too. Though low-lying areas and poor households are most affected by heavy rains and subsequent flooding, this happens in areas where stormwater and drainage systems were put in by the City.
Pictures of tarred roads filled with water as drains struggle were all over the news over the past weeks. Houses were not spared as the water often gets into yards and causes flooding. Stormwater often blocks the sewage networks, causing an unbearable smell when it flows on the road.
Table View resident Phillippe Bester said it is time many affluent suburbs started facing the reality of flooding. “For a long time, we thought living in the suburbs meant we would not be affected, and only areas like Khayelitsha get affected, but that is not true. Thirty minutes of heavy rain will leave streets flooded. Why? The systems are no longer working, and they need to be upgraded.”
Mzikayise Tom from Khayelitsha said drains take days to pull water from the rain. “It is no longer informal settlements affected by this. We, as ratepayers, are too. We take videos and send them to councillors demanding explanations, but it never comes. We pay rates, but there is no value for our money.”
Sandra Dickson from lobby group STOP COTC said Cape Town has been undergoing rapid expansion in recent years with inadequate parallel upgrades of sewage, reticulation and stormwater systems.
“Our group, STOP COCT, gets many complaints and pictures from residents where sewage overflows the systems designed to remove it. It is evident in many areas with tarred roads that sand, dirt and rubbish accumulate around stormwater inlets at the slightest downpour. Preventative maintenance is a distant memory from years back.”
She blamed inadequate service delivery and lack of proper maintenance on infrastructure. “City of Cape Town chooses to hoard cash instead of making money available for much-needed services.”
City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said: “The City’s stormwater infrastructure is designed to receive and manage run-off during rainfall events, as is currently the case during this cold front that has brought about substantial rainfall. Flooding usually occurs during persistent heavy rainfall, but will gradually subside as the run-off is carried through the stormwater system.”
He added that stormwater infrastructure, unfortunately, sometimes get blocked by debris and often by foreign objects that get dumped into the system by residents who use it as a way of getting rid of waste.
“This is illegal and dangerous, as it prevents run-off from entering the stormwater system through inlets, or, at times, the blockage is within the stormwater mains itself.”
Xanthea Limberg, the City’s mayco member for Water and Waste, said it must be emphasised that stormwater should not flood the sewerage network.
“Rainwater should always be directed, via gutters (stormwater pipes), into the stormwater system. Stormwater gutters that are illegally connected to the sewer line can cause major overflows during heavy rainfall. This floods the sewers in the area, which are already straining from dumping of foreign objects and fats.”
She said collective efforts are required to address sewer overflows. “The City is working to minimise sewer overflows as far as possible, but we need the community’s help. The main cause of sewer overflows city-wide, including Khayelitsha, Philippi and Strand, is disposal and flushing of foreign objects, such as cloth rags, fats from cooking, nappies, wet wipes, rubble etc, into sewers. This creates blockages. For this reason, only human waste and toilet paper and water are allowed to be flushed.”
Weekend Argus