Water table problems affects Cape Town cemeteries

Water table problems caused by heavy rainfall have affected cemeteries throughout Cape Town in recent weeks.

Maitland Cemetery has been mostly affected by inclement weather.

PICTURE: Pixabay

Water table levels typically peak around the end of September as a result of soil saturation, which results in water lying on the surface due to the inability to drain away as a result of impermeable soils.

Mayco member for community services and health, Patricia van der Ross said last weekend, the cemetery was inaccessible due to higher than normal water tables, which resulted in 56 funerals taking place at the Welmoed Cemetery. She added that Operational staff at Maitland were forced to decline some requests for the reopening of private graves for a second interment, as some sections of the cemetery, she says, reached water at a depth of less than one metre below the surface.

‘’The Department regularly informs undertakers of the situation when they make their bookings regarding any challenges. They are fully aware that there are space constraints in Maitland Cemetery as a result of the winter water table. Their clients are encouraged to visit the cemetery to observe the reopening test hole to witness the extent of the problem and provide them the time to consider alternative cemeteries if not to their satisfaction,’’ said Patricia van der Ross, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health.

Van der Ross said Gate 4A area at Maitland Cenetry exhibits a very high water table. According to the city, aside from Maitland, a number of cemeteries still have spaces available for private graves. These include Klip Road (Grassy Park), Plumstead, Welmoed, Wallacedene, Rusthoff and Atlantis.

The City’s Recreation and Parks Department says it is working to resolve the resultant challenges, and these includes Examine the cemetery for possible new grave sites in dry pockets; Make space available at the edges and ends of burial blocks in older sections of the cemetery; Reduce the width of some narrow gravel roads to increase burial space by making them pathway widths, and accessible by foot; Promote the use of Mausoleum Crypts; Encourage the practice of cremation where religion and culture permit it; Promote second burials in family graves where the water table has not affected their reuse; Demolished buildings will also facilitate the removal of foundations and the expansion of burial spaces. 

 

Done By: Mitchum George