Outcry as Milnerton Lagoon upgrades granted extension

The City of Cape Town has been given three more years to finish long-overdue pollution fixes

- By Kristin Engel

In the continuing saga of the Milnerton Lagoon's ecological collapse, the Western Cape MEC for local government, environmental affairs and development planning, Anton Bredell, has granted the City of Cape Town up to three more years to comply with long-overdue upgrades.

This is despite a 2021 directive stating that no further deadline extensions would be entertained without a high court appeal.

The decision has sparked debate among environmental activists and affected communities, who regard it as a dangerous precedent and a failure to enforce regulations.

For years, the lagoon and the lower Diep River have suffered from dangerously high pollution levels, posing health risks to anyone in contact with the water. The foul stench has led residents to report respiratory symptoms, sinusitis and headaches, particularly among vulnerable groups.

The directive and the extensions

In 2021, the provincial Department of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning issued a directive to the City, setting out strict timelines for infrastructure upgrades and pollution remediation at the Milnerton Lagoon and lower Diep River.

The City was directed to update the action plan to expedite the upgrading of the Potsdam wastewater treatment works by the end of August 2025, the Koeberg Road pump station by 1 June 2024 and the Koeberg pump station by 31 December 2025.

It has been granted an extension until 31 December 2027 for the wastewater works, until 30 June 2025 for Koeberg Road pump station and until 31 December 2028 for the Koeberg pump station.

According to Bredell, the City requested an extension based on construction timelines and contractual programmes for the wastewater works and pump station upgrade, as well as significant delays in the Montague Gardens bulk sewer line upgrade.