The City if Cape Town’s Water and Sanitation Directorate attended to 110 598 sewer blockages across its more than 9 000 km sewer pipeline network during the 2024-’25 financial year, at a cost of R228 million.
Up to 60% of these blockages can be prevented and are directly caused by misuse of the sewer system and illegal dumping of foreign objects, rags, building material, fats and oil.
On average, the City clears one misuse-related blockage every eight minutes. Illegal dumping into the sewer system comes at a steep cost to the City. Of the R228 million spent on maintenance, about R137 million went towards clearing preventable blockages caused by items that should never have entered the system.
Millions
That is an estimated R11,4 million every month, or R376 000 daily.
The remaining R91 million was spent on clearing blockages related to other causes such as sand and tree roots. Adding to the strain on financial resources is valuable time spent responding to preventable sewer blockages.
On average, the City clears one misuse-related blockage every eight minutes, costing around R2 000 per call out for the time, equipment and materials needed for the repair.
This excludes cases that significantly drive costs up, where specialised vehicles (such as jetting or vacuum tankers), cleaning, disinfection and additional security for operational teams working in high-risk areas, are required.
“Every time someone flushes or dumps wet wipes, rags, rubble, and other items that don’t belong in the sewer, it places an exorbitant burden on our resources,” says Zahid Badroodien, Mayco member for water and sanitation.
“It is especially frustrating when incidents take place repeatedly and the City is obligated to respond to an avoidable problem. Toilets and manholes should not be used as dustbins. We need residents to assist us in reducing these costs by treating all components of the sewer system with care.
Infrastructure
“Each act of misuse costs money which could be better spent upgrading and improving infrastructure,” Badroodien says.
Noticeably, more sewer blockages occur during winter rains from June to August, where stormwater ingress becomes another challenge.
The top 20 areas where the highest number of incidents were attended to include Gugulethu, Strand, Delft, Philippi, Bonteheuwel, Lotus River, Nyanga, Manenberg, Bishop Lavis, Langa, Eersterivier, Bellville South, Wallacedene, Ruyterwacht, Hout Bay, Hanover Park, Mfuleni, Tafelsig, Ravensmead and Constantia.
“We need to change our habits to turn this situation around and stop money from literally going down the drain,” appealed Badroodien.
