31-07-2025
Ongoing sewage spills flagged as threat to Bay tourism
Ward 2 councillor Sean Tappan said a section of the 600mm underground burst pipe has been identified in the harbour.
'This is why the sewage spill occurred in the parking lot of Kings Beach.
'If there's a power failure in the Roedolf pump station, it goes off because there is a backup generator but no automatic system to switch it back on when the power comes back on.'
The sewage spill in the Cape Recife nature reserve, which flows to the beach, also covers a section of the road in the conservancy where tourists and locals walk, run and hike.
However, this experience has been lessened by the stench from the sewage, which also affects businesses in the area.
Pine Lodge operations manager Warren Wakeford said at times it was significantly worse.
'When the wind blows in a certain direction, the whole lodge would smell.
'It can be quite brutal, and guests would call asking about what's going on.
'Others think it's an in-house problem and we always have to clarify,' Wakeford said.
'From a tourist point of view, it's difficult to quantify what we could be potentially losing and how many people don't visit because of this issue, but I'm pretty sure there's an impact.
Ziggy's Rock & Reggae Bar manager Jaco Rossouw said the smell resulted in bad reviews online.
'They are talking about how bad their experience was with us because of the smell.
'The landlord has spoken to the councillor before, and he's helped over the years, but it always seems to be a temporary repair because it's been more than two years of the same thing, from what I can remember.
'Locals who walk and hike in this area always complain about the stench and having to jump over the pool of smelly water, which isn't always safe.
'This is a huge tourism issue, coupled with the fact that there's no street light from the beacon up to here.
'This is where all the holidaymakers stay, and the sewage spills are not a great image of our city. And with the summer season coming, the smell will get worse.'
For the Love of Nature, an organisation that has planned a fun run to raise funds for the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob) in Cape Recife on Sunday, also raised concerns about the issue.
For the Love of Nature founder Mario Sophocleous said it was a family event that would be affected.
'We expect people with babies in prams and possibly people in wheelchairs who won't be able to pass the sewage puddle, because it's quite big.
'Driving through is one thing, but people usually come here to walk.
'If I were a father to a baby in a pram, I would not participate.'
Sanccob centre manager Carl Havemann said t he sewage smell affected the public's enjoyment when visiting the centre.
'Especially when the winds come from the treatment plant side and impact any beach events we organise.
'All our penguins are released back onto Bird Island, so they are not affected by the spill.'
Effluent, believed to be from a nearby settling pond, flows towards the beach, with a wide stretch along the sewage stream overgrown by reeds and invasive vegetation.
It comes from the wastewater treatment plant located in the Cape Recife Conservancy.
In mid-December, Brighton Beach had to be closed after test results revealed alarmingly high contamination levels due to discharges from the plant.
In June, municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said the time frame for reopening was the end of the month.
He failed to respond to questions on Thursday.
The Herald
