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: PixabayWater 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
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