To report or complain about flooded roads, chemical or other spills, or other stormwater matters, call 0860 103 054 or e-mail watertoc@capetown.gov.za.
When you phone or e-mail, make sure you give details of the location or address where the incident occurred or is occurring, and when you first noted the incident. Also give a good description of the incident, and any other details you have observed, which may help with the subsequent investigation. |
The City of Cape Town needs to strike a balance between providing essential services to a growing population, and conservation of natural resources and heritage. Nowhere is this truer than in the City’s stormwater management service, which must ensure that stormwater is managed in such a way that residents do not experience flooding or uncomfortable levels of dampness. Equally important is ensuring that urban stormwater does not result in degradation of natural environments and increased public health risks.
Cape Town’s stormwater system, which drains the city and keeps us from becoming waterlogged, is an extensive network of built infrastructure as well as the natural ecosystems such as rivers and wetlands. It consists of:
- 180 000 gullies/ intakes
- 7 500 km pipes and culverts
- extensive surface channel systems
- 800 detention ponds
- 1 200 km rivers and streams
- thousands of wetlands (including ‘vleis’ and estuaries)
The replacement value of the built infrastructure is conservatively estimated at R11.2 billion; the natural ecosystems are irreplaceable.
The functions of Catchment, Stormwater and River Management are to:
- develop strategy and policy
- plan stormwater infrastructure and control land-use
- develop and maintain stormwater infrastructure such as pipes, culverts, detention ponds and constructed wetlands
- protect receiving waters from pollution
- plan for disasters such as floods
- manage information
The risk of flooding and pollution can thus be reduced through appropriate planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of stormwater infrastructure, as well as development management and disaster planning, and by the actions of responsible people in Cape Town who do not pollute the stormwater system and report problems to the City’s Technical Operations Centre.
The work of the Branch, which falls under the Transport, Roads and Major Projects Directorate, is in line with the City’s Integrated Development Plan (Five Year Plan for Cape Town), which aims to provide universal access to basic services, conserve natural resources and effectively manage the City’s infrastructure and resources.