The winter rains and storms that hit Cape Town are an annual occurrence, and often cause preventable damage and disruption to the city's roads and stormwater drains.

With more rain expected as winter draws to a close, the City of Cape Town has implemented measures to minimise the risk of floods.

This began with a programme of rehabilitative maintenance and improvements to stormwater infrastructure in the summer months. The Roads and Stormwater Department also embarks on an annual cleaning programme to keep canals, gullies, culverts and open channels clean, to ensure that the flow of water downstream is not restricted. This includes the removal of silt and other debris from the underground systems and stormwater catch pits. All critical stormwater outlets in ponds, rivers and canals are also inspected regularly and cleaned when required. To see a video of how this is done, click here. 

The department's budget allocation for this proactive maintenance by means of contracted services totals R46 million, while the reactive maintenance work, such as the response to flood incidents, totals R41 million.

The Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Major Projects, Councillor Elizabeth Thompson, visited the sites where cleaning by service providers is in progress.

Cllr Thompson said: "I am always amazed at what comes from the stormwater systems when we clean them. I make a point of visiting different sites prior to and during winter. Over the last few years we were able to improve our preparedness and management of the systems during the winter, but we cannot succeed without the help of the communities.

"I once again appeal to the citizens not to allow any other waste to enter the stormwater system other than that which is supposed to be in the system."