Environmental activists are giving the City a thumbs up after starting the next portion of the major R470 million Milnerton Bulk Sewer upgrade – part of which should also combat the Milnerton Lagoon pollution.
“This is a step in the right direction,” says Mark Cummings who lives a stone’s throw away from the lagoon.
Like many others, he has voiced his concerns about the Milnerton Lagoon pollution for years.
The City finally broke ground at the Montague Gardens Bulk Sewer Pipe last week with the construction of an entirely new pipeline set for completion by 2025.
This complex project entails the construction of a new bulk sewer in Montague Gardens using innovative micro-tunnelling technology.
“The City will also extend and connect the Edgemead and Century City Bulk Sewers into the new infrastructure,” said Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis at the site on Wednesday.
Once the nearly 4 km of new bulk sewer is built by early 2025, the City will divert sewage along this new line while it rehabilitates the existing bulk sewer in Montague Drive, Montague Gardens.
Trenchless tech
Given that the existing pipeline is under the busy Montague Drive roadway, pipe rehabilitation will make use of trenchless technology.
Local residents are ecstatic that the City will use a robotic crawler to first profile pipes which will then determine the best method of repair.
All work will occur underground with minimal surface-level disruption to residents and traffic.
Zahid Badroodien, Mayco member for water and sanitation, said on Wednesday that it was a joy to break ground on yet another major upgrade project.
“The existing bulk sewer under Montague Drive is operating at full capacity, with an upgrade needed to accommodate future growth in this part of the city.
“That is why we are constructing an entirely new bulk sewer, which will operate alongside the rehabilitated existing pipeline.
“The City’s goal is to steadily restore the environmental health of the Milnerton Lagoon through a combination of infrastructure upgrades and dredging of the waterbody to remove pollution build-up in sediment,” Badroodien said.
Besides the Milnerton bulk sewer upgrade, other major infrastructure projects in the area include the R5,2 billion upgrade to double capacity at Potsdam Wastewater Works – the Western Cape’s second-largest infrastructure project – bigger than Jo’burg and Durban combined – as well as the R118 million Koeberg pump station upgrade.
The City previously announced that they will invest a massive R1,4 billion in major bulk sewer upgrades to the Cape Flats, Philippi, Milnerton, and Gordon’s Bay lines over the next three years.
“Aside from improving basic services, and personal and community dignity, the scale of Cape Town’s R43 billion three-year infrastructure pipeline will create an estimated 135 000 jobs in the city over three years,” Hill-Lewis said on Wednesday.
Combatting lagoon pollution
Badroodien said that the Milnerton bulk sewer upgrade includes the installation of a sandtrap and screening facility at Koeberg Road pump station.
This will improve performance and reduce breakdowns caused by foreign objects entering the pump station.
A new 300 m long bulk outfall sewer of 1 350 mm diameter will also be constructed at the Koeberg Road pump station to accommodate the combined flow of the existing and new Montague Gardens bulk sewers.
“Improving the Koeberg Road pump station’s operations will reduce the number of sewer spills into the Diep River and relieve environmental pressure,” he said.
The City’s goal is to steadily restore the environmental health of the Milnerton Lagoon
Across the metro, the City exceeded its target of doubling sewer pipe replacement from 25 km to 50 km for the 2022-’23 financial year ending June 2023, replacing 55 km of pipeline.
The annual pipe replacement target will now be doubled yet again to 100 km per year from 2023-’24, for a total investment of R850 m over the next three years.
