Cape Town - Tension was high at a packed meeting between the City and the Milnerton Central Residents Association (MCRA) where residents expressed frustration and dissatisfaction at the lack of progress in resolving the severe pollution in the Milnerton Lagoon and its ecosystem collapse.
At the meeting, residents said the current state of the lagoon warranted the declaration of an environmental disaster, a rates decrease and even threatened a rates boycott.
This meeting was the City’s first quarterly meeting regarding the Milnerton Lagoon and the Lower Diep River Catchment addressing its ecosystem collapse, which was caused by Potsdam’s treated effluent discharge (which has not met safety standards for much of the past four years), frequent major spillages of raw sewage from pump station failures, sewage contaminated run-off from informal areas and numerous other pollutants.
During the engagement, the City unpacked a draft estuary management plan of short-term interventions to better the health of the lagoon.
Water and sanitation mayoral committee (Mayco) member Zahid Badroodien said this included protecting Riet Vlei and Flamingo Vlei from the pollutants in the Diep River by creating separation barriers, dredging the lagoon once all pollution sources were plugged and introducing fail safes at large pump stations.
MCRA environmental head Caroline Marx said: “It is an environmental disaster and if declaring it one will assist, then that is what needs to be done. A request to revalue properties which have lost value because of the pollution and reduce rates accordingly seems reasonable.”
She added that the association would rather work constructively with the City, however, there were increasing calls for a rates boycott as a result of the impact the pollution has had.
Badroodien said: “The City can remediate the Milnerton Lagoon, but the process will require a systematic and international approach over numerous years. The Mayoral Priority Programme on Sanitation sets a clear programme execution plan that will address the ambient water quality in targeted water bodies.
“The quality of the ecosystem will increase as the City delivers Potsdam Waste Water Treatment Works upgrades, Milky Way low-flow diversion, installation of generator capacity at pump stations, an upgrade of Koeberg pump station, and sewer pipeline replacements.”
Marx said the City’s transparency and willingness to engage at the meeting was appreciated, but what residents wanted to hear was firm commitments around what would be done and by when to solve the problem.
“No start and completion dates were supplied for these short-term interventions and residents have become disillusioned by promises of future action,” Marx said.
Resident and local film-maker Mark Jackson said: “The City actually needs to declare Milnerton Lagoon a disaster area, and double their efforts.
“Yes they are trying, but they are far too slow. The City officials need to start working overtime to make up for being about 10 years late with the upgrades.
“The environment, and the ratepayers with plummeting property values, and having to live through this disaster, can’t wait that long.”
MCRA said the Milnerton community and the lagoon have suffered perhaps irreparable damage, both environmental and financial, over the years.
Cayla Murray, Blaauwberg/Durbanville DA constituency head, believed the City’s draft estuary plan was a step in the right direction for the Milnerton Lagoon pollution.
“The estuary plan acknowledges that the catchment ecosystem collapsed and needs urgent intervention. The short-term intervention will preserve the functional Rietvlei ecosystem by minimising disturbance and water quality impacts from the Diep River by installing a barrier.
“The Milnerton Lagoon will benefit from improved handling of stormwater run-off and the City will reduce the impacts of sewage spills and other pollution sources through the fast-tracking of the installation of generators and better telemetry monitoring,” Murray said.
Stop CoCT founder, Sandra Dickson said the situation surround the lagoon pollution was the result of neglected maintenance and upgrades to the sewage plants in the area, and a direct result of the unabated and uncontrolled development projects in the area over many years.
Dickson said the lack of spending on a core municipal function such as sewage management was grave mismanagement of municipal resources.
“I will return to the community in November again to give feedback on the implementation of our short-term interventions,” Badroodien said.