At 17.08 on 11 May the Marina Da Gama Community put out a warning on its FaceBook page:

“Alert sewerage spill:

“There is an ongoing sewerage spill from the Sand River. While they have been pumping it out, it isn’t enough and the spill has entered the vlei. Please exercise caution while using the waterbody, especially in the northern section.”

The spill took a couple of days to locate and stem, and the authorities now say that it has stopped. (Although some Marina residents claim the flow has not completely stopped, and also complain of vile smells from the adjacent canal). But the polluted water did enter the vlei, and with the heavy rainfall on Saturday 15th we wait to see how far the pollution has spread.

Apparently tests will be done tomorrow (Monday 17th) to assess the toxicity of the water.

Meanwhile there is much activity all over the Zandvlei as canoeists prepare for the SA 2021 Canoe Marathon Championships due to take place from 21-23 May. The event is based at the Peninsula Canoe Club on Zandvlei.

Participants would be advised to avoid ingesting the water, and to take a good shower when the race is over as the City of Cape Town has seen fit to erect signage advising against playing, swimming or drinking the water.

Although the city has announced in press releases that they are preparing a response to the petition which was started five weeks ago, there has been no direct contact with the petitioners regarding the demands of the petition.