Just as the community geared up for their monthly full-moon dip at Small Bay Beach in Bloubergstrand last week, an alert on a possible sewage spill halted the festivities.
This was a result of a very high tide which snapped a sewerage pipe at Small Bay, “causing a minor spillage onto the sand, not into the sea,” says Ward councillor Paul Swart.
Residents in the area say even though the sewage spill was minor and on sand, the City of Cape Town must find a permanent solution.
“This beach is so beautiful… a pity that sewage spills are spoiling the views,” says Gary Cloete, a resident from Bloubergstrand.
Cloete says the contamination is a health hazard and the medical conditions that arise from contact with sewage spills are serious.
Swart told TygerBurger that apart from immediate action by the relevant department to secure and fix it, as a safety precaution signs were placed.
“Already the following day I was advised by the City that the beach is not closed and that the signs can be taken off. I advised Cecilia [Schutte from Moxy Tribe] accordingly as they had their full-moon swim that evening. To my knowledge, the signs had been taken away.
“The sea-wall upgrade will secure the line and prevent such incidents,” he says.
Moxy Tribe’s full moon swim
Every month, the Moxy Tribe hosts their community full-moon dip at Small Bay Beach.
Cecilia Schutte from Moxy Tribe says in a social media post they needed to change the evening to the following night, due to an alert on possible sewage spill.
“Unfortunately there was a plastic pipe broken this morning at Small Bay on the beach. The response to get this fixed in time was not done as we hoped. We were told they are waiting on the contractor, despite alerts and photos sent and posted, at low tide, when this was spotted and having enough time to have this fixed. It is unfortunate for us all who looked forward to having an event in honour of the ocean and community, that it has to be moved to the following day. I guess we can reflect more on how tenuous a hold we have on our ocean environment and pollution. On the other hand, in this case, it was a more controlled issue than plastic drifting down the coast. I hope in future the response will be more immediate,” she says.
Schutte added that the boards were taken down by the following evening. The full moon dip went ahead the following evening, despite the minor sewage spill on sand.
“We had so much fun getting the community together and enjoying a warm ocean. We are lucky that at full moon we have the spring high tide, as it also helps to clean out the bay. All in all still a successful evening. Many came all dressed up in the theme ‘Ocean life’. We have a special one planned for early next month,” Schutte says.
Past sewage spills
TygerBurger reported numerous times of sewage spills at Small Bay in the past. Loadshedding was to blame for the previous spill in 2020. It was said then that loadshedding rendered the pumping station at Bloubergstrand inactive, which also affected the warning system.
Residents were shocked when untreated sewage, toilet paper and sanitary products washed out into the sea.
