Sewage Spill Sets Back River Restoration

The blocked or damaged pipe is located underneath the M3 freeway between Pollsmoor and the Kirstenhof Park

While the City of Cape Town have been doing their best to combat the problem, the challenge has been the lack of access to the prison grounds - the prison being a national entity.

On Monday, the first day of the spill, human faeces was seen floating all over the river in Orchard Village.

On Tuesday, it was less noticeable - instead the water had turned a milky white colour. Possibly this could have been a result of washing detergents also entering the river, although this is only speculation.

By Wednesday, the river’s appearance was quite a bit better - likely though that with the lack of rain and wind, the sewage had just settled onto the river bed.

The only positive has been the high water levels - high tides pushing up from lower Zandvlei - which would have helped dilute the pollutants.

Counsellor Carolynne Franklin provided the following reports, notably explaining that she has tried to prevent the water being chemically treated.

🤦‍♀️ Kirstenhof and Orchard Village.. Monday 08 September 2025 - 11:15

💩 There has been a significant sewage overflow on Pollsmoor Prison grounds.

😔 This is impacting the water quality of Westlake river Lower.

🛻 City teams are treating this as a priority but the unblocking will potentially temporarily result in more degradation of the downstream environment.

☀️ The upside is that with the collaboration of KERA, Pollsmoor Prison Management, and The City of Cape Town Kendall Road Depot - all

Of whom reached out to me and enabled the dots to be joined and access approved, a response is now underway.

🐸 This is a blow to the WLToads but the Reeds and river vegetation are mitigating some of the impact by partially cleaning and ‘polishing’ the water.

🐶 Please keep dogs on leads and away from the river… kids too

Tuesday 09 Sep 2025 - 11:00 .. update to sewer overflow from Pollsmoor Prison into Westlake River.

🛻 The city are still working feverishly to blast this stubborn blockage that sits in the large sewer line under the M3.

🐠 Pollution control and mitigation measures into the large affected riverway (from M3 to Main Road, Lakeside) are not yet activated as I cannot condone the use of toxic chemicals being thrown into the river. They are even more harmful to the environment and wildlife than our poop.

💩 The spillage is still underway and options are being explored as to how to mitigate and redirect the flow out of the river as a matter of urgency.

🛑 Please keep pets and children far away from the Westlake River for now.

🙆‍♀️ Hands up to all of the city staffers across many directorates who are putting heads together to think out of the box.

🗒️ I will be asking for a full debrief and report after this crisis is over to ensure that there are basic intergovernmental and local comms in place to ensure this does not happen again on my watch - or into the future.

🙏 Thank goodness the city’s investment into updated trucks and staff has allowed for this full-on response.

#responsiblegovernance

#ratesatwork

#ward71

#cllrcaro

LATEST (Friday 12 September)

📝 To close out on the cause of the stubborn blockage under the M3 at the culvert between Pollsmoor and Kirstenhof that resulted in a significant sewage spill into the Lower Westlake River….

Cause:

Discarded cutlery

Rags

Plastic

🔪 Interestingly the cutlery discard coincides with a raid at Pollsmoor Prison recently so draw your own conclusions.

💴 This multiple day/night and resource heavy operation to unblock the sewer pipes has cost a fortune, damaged our riverway and its wildlife , and resulted in polluted water right down into Zandvlei.

🏙️ The City’s Water Pollution Staff will again be undertaking some robust education programs with our Upstream neighbours, plus enforcing compliance where necessary.

🚽 We can all play our part by not using toilets and the sewer system as a dumping ground ... no nappies, no wetwipes, no rags, no sanitary pads, no cooking oil, and definitely no eating utensils.

Only pee, poop, and paper please.