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Tuesday 5 April 2011
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Stink hangs in the air MELISSA LE ROUX
R
ESIDENTS of Pelican Park and Zeekoevlei are sickened to the core by a repulsive reek that is filtering through their areas. The unbearable stench is due to problems with the Cape Flats Wastewater Treatment Works (CFWWTW) sludge disposal system. Aslam Gierdien, who has been a resident of Pelican Park for over a year, says sometimes the stench is so bad that lighting two essence burners cannot disguise it. “The smell has gone away for a little while, but it is back now. At first we thought the smell could be coming from the surrounding farms, but now we know that it is definitely caused by the sewerage system.” “The smell is absolutely awful. It’s actually embarrassing when we have people over and we have to try and justify the cause of the smell,” he says. He adds that he hopes the City will look at upgrading the sewerage system to help sort out the problem. “They wouldn’t tolerate this kind of smell in a more affluent area,” he says. According to Ward Councillor Basil Lee, the smell is caused by a faulty sludge digester that has been causing problems for nearly two years. “What the sludge digester does is crush the effluent of sludge that comes in, and if it doesn’t work properly, the smell is going to filter through,” he says. He adds that the smell was eradicated in the past; however, it has
now returned. “We tried using a special spray which helps break down the sludge. It worked for a while but then it came back,” he says. A new contractor will be appointed in June, which he hopes will help the situation. A site visit was undertaken by a group of the City of Cape Town’s staff members – including a biodiversity specialist – in June last year, to inspect the cause and effects of the problematic sludge digester. The sludge drying beds, which were constructed in the 1980s, were part of the standard wastewater treatment process, and were used to break down the sludge that built up. According to Kevin Samson, the manager of the wastewater, water and sanitation department, the cause of the smell is due to the digested sludge being stored on site in the sludge beds. “Due to the inconsistent performance of the external contractor who operates and maintains the Sludge Pelletising Plant, it has not been operating continuously and hence the digested sludge is stored on the site,” he says. In 2000, the plant was upgraded to increase its capacity, and a new system of pelletisation was implemented to process the sludge from the digesters, where, at a temperature of 350 degree celsius, the digested sludge is thermally dried in the pelletisation plant. According to Richard Cammell, chairperson of Zeekoevlei Civic Association, the problem with the sewerage plant has been going on for two years now. “Residents have been complaining about the awful smell. If the sys-
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the contractor, the City plans to implement point source odour control and injection of an odour-reducing chemical into the sludge to alleviate the odour until the sludge drying plant is again operational,” says Samson. Chairperson of the Rondevlei Subcouncil, Councillor George March, says the City will visit the site again before the week is over to see what can be done. He adds that the City has initiated legal action against the contractor for his lack of performance, and a new operating and maintenance contract for the sludge drying plant will be advertised shortly.
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to Johannesburg for repairs. The plant had to then revert to its previous operating procedure of disposing of all the treated sludge to the sludge drying beds. Chairperson of the Pelican Park Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association, Yaseen Meyer, says he has received many complaints from residents about the stench wafting through the area and into their homes. “In summer it is bad, unbearable actually. It is not that bad in the winter or when it is cold,” he says. “Odour control agents are currently being sprayed onto the sludge drying beds to minimise the odours. In view of the delays with
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tem was working effectively, there wouldn’t be a smell at all,” he says. He adds that in the past, septic sludge was dumped behind the dunes at the plant. However, they are currently treating it. Towards the end of 2009, one of the two centrifuges required in the pelletisation process broke down and had to be sent to Johannesburg for refurbishment. The plant could operate normally with the remaining centrifuge, if the two centrifuges worked in an active and standby capacity. However, in May last year, the second centrifuge developed problems and also had to be sent away
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WELCOME HOME: The skipper of the City of Cape Townsponsored yacht Spirit of Izivunguvungu, Kader Wil liams from Mitchell’s Plain, hugs his sister, Mezyda Samsodien, after returning to home shores on Wednesday 30 March. The yacht was damaged beyond repair in a storm last week, as the crew sailed her back to South Africa after taking part in the Heineken Cape to Rio 2011 yacht race. The sailors were rescued by a Liberianreg istered ship after communication with the boat was lost for four days. They disembarked at Simon’s Town harbour. Photo: Chad Chapman
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376 Voortrekker Road Tel: 021 592 1794
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Cnr Klipfontein Road & Belgravia Road, Athlone Tel: 021 638 6624
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