Melkbosstrand beach closed again due to sewage issues

A red danger flag flies at Melkbosstrand Beach, warning swimmers of hazardous conditions as sewage issues lead to repeated closures. Repeated beach closures at Melkbosstrand have left beachgoers frustrated due to a series of sewage-related incidents, with residents expressing concerns that the explanations for these disruptions have been inadequate. Residents in the area have raised concerns about ongoing sewage problems near the Beach Road pump station in previous weeks, with some saying spills and overflows have occurred for some time.

Local ward councillor Paul Swart said the closures were caused by separate incidents and were not the result of a continuous sewage spill. “It is very unfortunate that within a space of three weeks we had these three incidents, but they were all separate. They were not things that the department could preempt and take measures for,” Swart said.

According to Swart, the first incident occurred about three weeks ago when an overflow was reported at the pump station in Beach Road. “The first one was three weeks ago when there was a spill at the pump station in Beach Road at the manhole, which resulted from overnight work that the department did at the pump station. That was contained and the beach was closed until the Tuesday.

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Everything was fine,” he said. A second incident occurred the following weekend when the same manhole overflowed again, this time due to a blockage in the sewer line. “The following weekend on Saturday, there was a spill at the same manhole in Beach Road which resulted from a blocked drain,” Swart said. He said the blockage was caused by foreign objects being flushed into the sewer system.

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