Report stolen and broken sewer drain manhole covers to help reduce overflows this winter. With winte...
Report stolen and broken sewer drain manhole covers to help reduce overflows this winter.
With winter rains, the City's Water and Sanitation Directorate is calling on the public to report stolen and broken sewer drain manhole covers so that they can be replaced in the shortest timeframe possible to help reduce
sewer overflows on rainy days.
The City's Water and Sanitation team has spent about R2,6 million on replacing more than 4 900 sewer drain manhole covers that were stolen or broken in various areas across the city between July 2021 to May 2022.
This figure has increased compared to the 3 382 manhole covers reported missing or stolen in the 2020/2021 financial year.
With the arrival of winter, we are encouraging residents to please report stolen or broken sewer drain manhole covers so they can be replaced.
Manhole covers are an important part of our sewer infrastructure, which should only be opened by staff when they inspect the network or have to unblock the pipeline.
These must not be stolen or removed.
Typically there is
a trend that sees an increase in sewer overflows in winter because of the combined impact of various factors, such as rainwater and foreign objects entering the sewer network.
Open manholes is one way that illegally dumped waste and rainwater can enter the sewer network.
Generally, waste items that are flushed, poured down sinks and drains, and which cause blockages and overflows, are already affecting the sewer system.
During heavy rain, overflows increase because illegal dumping of rubbish, old unwanted items, stones/rocks, sand, building rubble, etc, also wash into the sewer network system via open manholes.
Coupled with this, more rainwater enters via these open manholes and from illegal stormwater-to-sewer cross-connections on properties, where rainwater is channeled from roofs, gutters, and paved or hard yard surface areas into sewer drains.
All these factors contribute to blockages or reduces the capacity of the pipes to convey wastewater, and damage infrastructure like pump stations, resulting in overflows and flooding,' said Dr Zahid Badroodien, City of Cape Town MMC: Water and Sanitation Read more: https://bit.ly/3Ot2lAc #CTNews
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