City of Cape Town: Step Up and Serve All Communities - Clean Up the Kuils River Now!

Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG), in partnership with the Western Cape Water Caucus (WCWC), have noticed that the City of Cape Town (CCT)’s Five Year Integrated Development Plan June 2017 – June 2022, and the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) Clear Rivers Campaign does not prioritise the Kuils River Catchment in the Western Cape province of South Africa (SA).

Water is a human right  - globally the coronavirus (Covid-19) health pandemic has caused lockdowns and reports show the worsening of disparities in access to water, sanitation, and waste management services in informal settlements, rural areas, and townships in SA.  Access to water and sanitation for hygiene practices are essential against the spread of Covid-19 - but frequent washing of hands with soap and water and regular disinfection of living and working surfaces was a daily struggle for residents and continues to be in the lockdown period. This is increasing the residents' vulnerability to Covid-19, added to the present exposure to harmful diseases from environmental pollution. Based on the weekly reports from residents, it was found that refuse removal and toilet cleaning services have not improved at any time in 2020, nor during the lockdown period so far.

Environmental Racism? In Cape Town, the Kuils River Catchment area originates in the Durbanville Hills and flows south through the Cape Flats to Macassar ending at Zandvliet Wastewater Treatment Plant at the coast.  The lack of waster and waste management along the Kuils River has caused toxic living sites for the working-class residents in areas like Mfuleni, Makhaza, Sandvlei, and Macassar - living in a dangerous state of environmental health. We say the state of the Kuils River reflects not only neglectful water management of the CCT, it also reveals environmental racism.

Let us qualify! The lack of oversight and earnestness in response to the communities’ needs in these areas, and the poor manner of service delivery in terms of water, sanitation, and waste management to informal settlements by the City of Cape Town, is shocking. It is CCT's responsibility and duty to provide reliable water and sanitation access and supply and to ensure the maintenance of these systems, to protect the communities’ health and the environment from the impact of toxic water and waste pollution. 

watch:  Monitoring Kuils River Catchment - studying water access and quality

We submit that the toxicity of the Kuils River is a major threat to environmental health, and has serious impacts on the quality of life and wellbeing of the residents noting:

o  Vulnerability to gender violence - the river is utilised because of no access - water must be collected. No sanitation - either no, or broken toilets. No green spaces or parks for children and youth to play. Gender violence impacts girls and women who visit remote parts, often in the dark, to do have dignity when doings ablutions, and become vulnerable to attack

o  The dangerous risk to environmental health - residents are exposed to diseases that cause long term harm to health and can be life-threatening such as dysentery, E-coli as well as Covid-19. The waste piles and air pollution impact on daily quality of life and community activities like sports. The value of your health, clean air and a green environment cannot be quantified, but the residents pay.

o The burden of paying for clean water and environmental health diseases -  residents have to spend time and money on collecting and cleaning water. Added is increasing healthcare costs from sickness caused by pollution - waterborne diseases in toxic water, families lose work, income, and education.

o   The toxicity of the river has endangered the resident’s food supply – there is small scale agriculture of cows, pigs, and goats; and food gardens and the use of toxic water affects the milk, meat, and produce.

read: The Kuils River Catchment - The Ways the City of Cape Town Neglects Working Class Black Communities

We are here to say that enough is enough!  Would CCT allow rivers suburban areas get so polluted and risk the environmental health of residents? We see the City of Cape Town’s inability to prioritise the communities of the Kuils River Catchment as a clear act of environmental racism, gender discrimination, and neglectful water and waste management.

We call on the City of Cape Town and the provincial government take responsibility for water and waste management delivery to communities by taking immediate and urgent action to clean and maintain the Kuils River Catchment area:

o   Make the Kuils River Catchment a priority area in the 2020/2021 proposed amendments to the Integrated Development Plan.

o   Do regular assessments and maintenance of shared water services such as communal taps, and facilitate the process

o   Conduct immediate waste removal of the Kuils River catchment – starting with a focus on the highly polluted lower catchment. The City of Cape Town must install and maintain large dumpsters in affected communities, including Mfuleni and its surroundings.

o   Begin regular upkeep of the catchment, including consistently removing waste from the area and consistently monitoring the catchment.

o   Begin regular educational programmes for the people residing in the catchment, including informing them of when waste is being dumped into the river from upstream and providing ways and resources to keep themselves safe from the toxicity of the river.

o   Recognise the Kuils River’s toxicity as an ongoing disaster, and treat it as such in all future proceedings, with adequate health services in affected communities.