Cape Town - The City’s water and sanitation department has been granted a bigger budget to repair its overburdened sewer infrastructure, especially in poor communities.
Following the success of the sewer system repair project, which saw the department repair a slightly longer section, water and sanitation Mayco member Zahid Badroodien said with its bigger budget during the 2022/2023 financial year, the department would be repairing an even longer section.
He said: “The sewer pipe replacement target is normally between 25km and 28km a year, based on the approved budget. We managed to exceed the 26km target and reach 29km.
“This 2022/2023 financial year, we are investing R150 million on sewer pipe replacements projects, R65m more this year than last year. Almost double the distance covered from 29 000 metres to 50 000 metres in one year.
“Cape Town has more than 9 million meters of sewer pipeline servicing properties across the city. This is about the distance from Cape Town to France by aeroplane.
“As a growing city, it is important that we pro-actively maintain, rehabilitate, replace and up-size sewer pipelines to help provide healthy environments for our residents and help prevent sewer blockages and overflows,” Badroodien said.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said: “A key focus of this new administration is on better sewer infrastructure across the city, particularly in poor neighbourhoods where rapid densification has put immense pressure on our underground sewer network.
“Over the coming years, we aim to increase our investment in new sewer pipes to improve dignity in Cape Town through better sanitation. This year, our aim is 50km, and next year we want to double that to 100km,” Hill-Lewis said.