Additional R39 million for stormwater maintenance to mitigate winter flooding
15 February 2026
The City’s Urban Mobility Directorate has been allocated an additional R39 million to ramp up maintenance and repair of stormwater infrastructure in flood-prone areas. The work will take place over the next four months to mitigate the impact of high rainfall events during winter.
The City Council committed an additional R39 million to the City’s Roads Infrastructure Management Department (RIM) when it approved the adjustment budget at its meeting last month.
‘Thanks to the additional budget, we are increasing our maintenance efforts, focusing on those areas that are worst affected during the wet winter months. We can deploy more teams and increase the cleaning cycles. Unfortunately, we have seen a significant increase over the past few years in vandalism and the illegal dumping of refuse and litter into our stormwater infrastructure. This remains our single biggest challenge because the dumping of material causes blockages and prevents runoff from rainfall events to enter the system and as a result, roads and houses get flooded, or the runoff takes an unusually long time to clear.
‘We have eight districts across Cape Town and the RIM teams in these areas are already hard at work, clearing stormwater pipes, manholes, catchpits, channels, ponds, and canals, as well as infrastructure along major traffic routes and in low lying areas. This is in addition to maintenance and minor repairs that are needed to ensure the system is fully functional by winter,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.
The areas for focused interventions were identified using data from last year, public reports of flooding, historic records, and site visits and investigations by local RIM teams. Stormwater systems in and around informal areas are included.
High risk areas include the following:
Flat areas where run-off from rainfall events is likely to build up
Low lying areas with no overland stormwater infrastructure
Where properties are lower than the roads
Areas prone to illegal dumping and vandalism
Where pond inlet and outlet structures are blocked off
Areas below steep mountain slopes
Low lying coastal areas
Major traffic routes
The additional R39 million forms part of the directorate’s operational budget for the period up to 30 June 2026 for:
Mechanical jetting and vacuuming to remove waste from underground pipes and catchpit connections
Desilting of canals and ponds
Repair of low-flow channels
Repair of damaged and vandalised manholes and catchpits to improve the functionality of the system
Minor modifications to existing stormwater infrastructure
‘The efforts will assist us to mitigate flooding incidents, and the teams will also increase inspections to proactively identify blocked infrastructure. On this note, I want to ask residents to keep on reporting blocked drains and illegal dumping, to not sweep waste into stormwater drains, and to help keep the stormwater inlets in their streets free from debris and waste. Regular trimming of trees overhanging drains will also help a lot,’ said Councillor Quintas.
Help us prepare for winter, report blocked stormwater drains:
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
