Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, visited Vrygrond on Thursday to inspect the City’s Winter Readiness Programme
Hill-Lewis says before the end of June, the City’s
Sanitation teams will jet clean 100 kilometres of pipe in the most flood-prone
parts of the metro.
In his budget speech earlier this year, Hill-Lewis said R10
million will be allocated to increase bed capacity at NGO-run shelters for the
homeless. He added that The City’s Care Programme to help people get off the
streets has been increased to R77 million for the 2022/2023 financial year.
The mayor is urging residents to do their part by
protecting stormwater infrastructure and by being aware of the risks of
building structures below the winter flood lines.
‘’I joined in this awareness campaign today (Thursday),
loudhailing in the Vrygrond area to get the winter readiness message out. In
winter there are a number of areas and roads that get flooded, especially in
low-lying areas, and where stormwater inlets and infrastructure are blocked.’’
‘’The City is acting proactively to try to alleviate the
effects of this flooding. We call on residents to please also play their part
by ensuring that they do not burden our stormwater system with the dumping of
waste in the infrastructure,’’ he added.
Additionally, over the long-term significant investment
will be made on water and sanitation infrastructure - with R1,6 billion this
coming financial year alone.
This amount includes R406 million for the replacement of the
Cape Flats Main Sewer, R755 million for the replacement and upgrading of pipes
in our sewer network, and R300 million for the replacement and upgrading of
pipes on our water network. We will double our pipe replacement to 50
kilometres this year, and in 2023 we will double it again to 100 kilometres. We
will spend four times more than we did last year on pipe replacement.
At the instruction of the Mayor, the City has also
formulated a sewer spill reduction plan. An additional amount of approximately
R152 million was allocated for sewer line jetting and over-pumping. We have
also allocated:
R30 million for the procurement of additional new vehicles
for fleet expansion. This includes: six 10 ton tipper with crane and grab, four
combination (vacuum and jet combined) units, jet trucks and one vacuum tanker,
and six water tankers.
The water tankers will help provide drinking water to
communities when needed, while the other vehicles will help deal with clearing
sewer blockages.
R41 million to replace additional sewer and water pipes.
The City has the following tips for the public about how
they can help to reduce flood risks:
·
Clear out drainage systems on properties
·
Raise the floor level of a structure so that it
is higher than the natural ground level
·
Make sandbags
·
Dig trenches around the house to divert water
away from the house
·
Report blocked drains, intakes and illegal
dumping – illegal dumping in the stormwater canals and sewers make flooding
worst.
·
Don’t dump illegally, rather use the City’s
solid waste services to get rid of waste or take their recyclables, garden
greens and builders rubble to our drop-off facilities.
·
Check for illegal stormwater-to-sewer
cross-connections on your properties, where water is chanelled from roofs,
gutters, and paved or hard yard surface areas into sewer drains. Ingress of
rainwater and items such as litter, material, builders rubble, fats, sanitary
ware, cause sewers to overflow especially when it rains.
·
Waterproof roofs, clear gutters and remove dead
tree branches
·
Do not leave an open flame unattended as the
risk of fires during winter especially is significant.
In an emergency or flooding:
Call the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre on
107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 from a cellphone.
The City of Cape Town will do everything possible to ensure
we navigate the winter season as safely as possible, and protect life and
property.
Done By: Mitchum George
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