Parts of one of Cape Town’s most popular beaches, Clifton 4th Beach, were closed on Sunday, 27 March, the city announced. This is due to a sewer pump failure at the beach, which resulted in wastewater pooling on the beach. 

The City of Cape Town confirmed this via a statement on Sunday afternoon. The city said a section of the beach was closed until further notice. 

Clifton 4th Beach is on the Atlantic Seaboard near Camps Bay. According to the city, the beach has blue flag status. 

“The temporary closure is due to a sewer pump station failure at Clifton Fourth, resulting in wastewater pooling on the beach… Various City departments have been activated to respond to this incident,” said the city. 

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Repairs to the pump station were under way, the city confirmed, and the cause of the failure is under investigation. The city said a berm was constructed to prevent wastewater from contaminating seawater.  

Cape Town’s problems with sewerage are not new. Following last year’s municipal elections, GroundUp said the city’s new administration needed to fix its sewerage system. The publication wrote: “A ‘world-class’ city cannot allow its beaches, rivers and vleis to be polluted with sewage and garbage.” Cape Argus reported in August 2021 that Maiden’s Cove and Glen Beach in Camps Bay were closed due to a collapsed collector sewer which caused an overflow onto the beach. News24 reported in 2018 of warnings against swimming at  Clifton 1st beach following a sewage spill. 

The sewage is not only limited to beaches. Daily Maverick’s climate reporter Onke Ngcuka recently reported on the sewage spills at Zeekoevlei and Rondevlei, which caused the water bodies to be closed for nine months. 

Read in Daily Maverick: Stakeholders flag City of Cape Town’s ‘lack of urgency’ in fixing ageing infrastructure blamed for Zeekoevlei sewage spillages.

“Signage has been erected, advising the public of the situation,” said the City. DM

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