Cape Town - There is no immediate ecological disaster or major risks to human health as the result of the effluent being discharged along Cape Town’s coastline, says the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).
This, as the department noted ActionSA’s intention to appeal the Coastal Waters Discharge Permits (CWDPs) that were issued for the Hout Bay, Camps Bay and the Green Point wastewater treatment works(WWTWs) sites.
ActionSA recently approached the court to challenge the legislation, saying it allowed for the “pumping raw sewage into the ocean at Green Point, Camps Bay and Hout Bay for another five years”.
The DFFE said the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was appointed by the City of Cape Town to do a marine impact assessment study which found that there was no risk of an immediate ecological disaster or major risks to human health.
The department said the effluent was not raw sewage, but preliminary treated sewage.
“The department would like to make it clear that it is a common practice in coastal cities around the world to discharge wastewater into the marine environment. In South Africa, this activity is legislated under the National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Amended Act, 2008, and the Coastal Waters Discharge Permit Regulations, 2019, which state that any person discharging effluent originating from land into coastal waters must obtain a CWDP from the Department,” the DFFE said.
“When the City of Cape Town submitted its applications, as part of the permitting requirements, the City was required to conduct a marine impact assessment study to assess the impact of the effluent on the receiving environment.
“The findings of the above-mentioned study indicated that there is no immediate ecological disaster or major risks to human health forthcoming as a result of the effluent discharged through the Cape Town outfalls.”
The department said it considered alternative options.
“However, no other feasible options are available currently. The City cannot cease the operations of the WWTWs as the municipality has a constitutional responsibility to deliver water and sanitation services to its citizens. In granting the permits, the Department made it conditional that the City must investigate ways to improve the quality of the effluent,” the DFFE said.
The department noted the sewage spills that resulted from pump station failures in some areas in Cape Town during the festive period.
“The department is of the view that all the legislative processes were followed during the decision-making process. Furthermore, the Department made it conditional in the permit that the permit- holder must monitor the effluent before it is discharged into the coastal waters and that the permit-holder must conduct monitoring in the receiving environment annually to assess the potential impact of the discharges on the receiving environment.
“In addition, the permit-holder must submit monitoring results to the Department on a quarterly basis and the Department’s Compliance office will conduct compliance audits to assess compliance with the conditions of the permit. There is ongoing monitoring that is required to investigate ways of improving the quality of effluent on a long-term basis and the conditions set in the permits are aimed at addressing the risks that are associated with the marine outfalls.”
Cape Times