Joint services intervention clears sewer overflows in Langa

17 October 2025

From Monday, 6 October to Friday, 10 October 2025, the City of Cape Town’s Water and Sanitation Directorate led a large-scale, joint service delivery intervention in Langa, supported by Urban Waste Management, Urban Mobility, Metro Police and Law Enforcement.

Langa faces ongoing issues such as blocked sewer lines, sewer collapses, illegal dumping, and clogged stormwater systems, all of which contribute to environmental pollution and service disruptions. Many of these challenges are caused by the dumping of foreign materials into sewer and stormwater networks.

The intervention was initiated to address persistent service delivery challenges affecting water and road infrastructure, particularly in areas where sewer, stormwater and waste issues overlap.

‘This is the first coordinated effort of its kind in Langa, and it shows what we can achieve when different departments work hand-in-hand to improve basic services for residents,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien.



Over the five-day intervention, City teams achieved the following:

Water and Sanitation:

• Cleared multiple sewer blockages and overflows using jetting and mechanical cleaning in Zones 16 to 24, as well as in Winnie Mandela Street, Albertina Sisulu Road, Johnson Ngwevela Street, Mshumpela Way, and surrounding roads.
• Responded to water-related service requests including reports of no water supply, low pressure, leaks at valves and meters, and missing fire hydrants.
• Deployed contractors to complete three sewer point repairs in Zones 19 and 20, and along Brinton Road.

• Removed illegally dumped waste, conducted street-sweeping and litter-picking throughout Langa.
• Placed six large waste skips to support ongoing waste collection; these will be emptied one to three times per week.

Urban Mobility

• Towards the end of October 2025, the Urban Mobility Directorate will also be conducting extensive cleaning of stormwater catch pits, manholes and pipelines across Langa to remove solid waste and pollution that has been illegally dumped in the system using both manual labour and mechanical interventions.
  
  

‘Through collective effort, we can deliver visible improvements that make a real difference to our communities.

‘Residents can play their part by disposing of solid waste responsibly. Never dump materials into the sewer system or flush inappropriate items down the toilet as it only causes blockages and overflows that affect everyone,’ said Councillor Badroodien.

Caption 1: Teams worked on clearing a sewer blockage in Johnson Ngwevela Street, Langa, on Thursday, 9 October 2025.

Caption 2: A contractor conducts a 225mm sewer point repair in Zone 20, Langa, which began on 19 September 2025.

Caption 3 - 7: (Dropbox) Teams unblocked several sewers removing debris and other foreign objects from them in various streets in Langa as part of a week-long joint service delivery intervention.

End

Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office