Diep River Canal in Cape Town

For years, the canal was a well-maintained waterway, but residents say that neglect has turned it into an

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Years of neglect have turned Cape Town's Diep River Canal into a sewage-filled nightmare that has a negative impact on both wildlife and the quality of life for residents in the area.

Despite repeated complaints and meetings with City of Cape Town officials, residents say that a vital silt trap remains uncleaned, leading to unbearable smells and ecological devastation in this southern suburbs community. Residents are calling for urgent intervention and the reestablishment of proper maintenance protocols to restore the canal to its original state.

Joan Stokes has lived next to the Diep River Canal for 35 years. In the early days, she recalls a well-maintained system and the City regularly clearing the silt trap next to her house. Today, however, the canal is a site of chronic neglect, filled with layers of silt, raw sewage and other filth that has created an "absolutely horrific" situation for residents.

The canal was originally converted from a river with a specific purpose: to manage silt runoff. Stokes says that upstream, towards Constantia, the waterway is still a “proper river” with natural banks.