Smell from Potsdam leaves residents gasping

The City of Cape Town is scrambling to move a stockpile of sludge that has accumulated at the Potsdam Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) in Milnerton which has left a stench in the air.

The city announced this week two contracts for the removal and disposal of the sludge at the facility had been signed following the conclusion of a second appeal process. The process commenced at the end of this week, though residents were advised the foul smells would remain for a few more days as the stockpile is removed.

The new tender is valid for three financial years and is valued at R200 million.

Caroline Marx, head of the environmental portfolio at the Milnerton Central Ratepayers Association, said the excuse of a tender issue was insufficient. “Residents are relieved that cleaning up will start soon, however, tenders and appeals are a predictable part of the normal process and should not be used to excuse operating failures.

“Previous problems with belt presses, pumps and UV lights which resulted in catastrophic pollution of the Diep River and Milnerton Lagoon were also blamed on procurement problems. Failure to manage the procurement process effectively is just that, a failure by the City management to do what they are paid to do.”

Mandy da Matta, chairperson of the Table View Ratepayers Association, said: “There has been a huge environmental impact and the odour and the chemicals used to treat the sludge has caused health issues for many residents plus there has been an impact on the quality and standard of living which has had a detrimental impact on both our ecosystem and on the economy of the area.”

The stench has left residents of surrounding areas fuming. Scilla Ewert, a resident of L'Afrique Eco Village located on the other side of the Diep River from the facility, said they had begun noticing the smell since New Year’s Day. “We have been inundated with flies and the smell is so bad at times we can’t stomach food,” she said.

“I do not accept the tender issues. They should have kept the outgoing vendor in place until the tender problem was solved. Of course property values will drop. Who wants to buy a property where this could be an issue at every tender renewal. We do notice the smell on the odd occasion but it has never been significant enough to bother us until now. It has been a living hell. Burning incense and candles all day keeping doors and windows closed just to stave off the smell. Not that it helped much.”

Table View resident James Williams said the smell was so intense it could be smelt from 2km away.

“It's the middle of summer, yet we have to close windows in the middle of the day to try and find relief from the smell,” he said. “I really feel for those who live closer. I'm shocked at the tender process that led to all of this, surely a better managed timeline for the tender challenge process could have avoided this mess.”

Last year, an investigation into the Potsdam facility by environmental management inspectors from the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning showed treated effluent from the facility that was fed into the Diep River and Milnerton Lagoon polluted and causing an environmental crisis, an issue long highlighted by the MCRA. Groups such as Astron Energy, Century City and MyCiti who use the effluent from the facility resorted to using municipal drinking water instead due to the pollution concerns. A directive was issued to the City of Cape Town on September 21 to remedy this, but the City appealed against the terms and timelines stipulated in the directive.

On Wednesday, the department upheld the directive with modifications, such as requiring the City to submit revised incident protocols, made. “In addition, some of the dates and timelines have been addressed,” said MEC for Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell. “The directive remains in effect and instructs the City to continue to implement its action plan to address the pollution and degradation concerns.”

Xanthea Limberg, mayoral committee member for water and waste at the City of Cape Town, said the delay in removing the sludge was a tender issue that affected all wastewater treatment works facilities and was not related to the appeal against the provincial directive, or the facility’s treatment of wastewater.

Limberg added that multiple appeals to award the tender has resulted in the service period of the previous tender being extended. “After the first appeal the previous tender was extended from July 2020 until 31 December 2020,” she said. “The second appeal, however, occurred thereafter, and a further extension was not possible.”

To combat the smell, Limberg explained that two types of products were being used. “The first, which is diffused into the air – usually along the periphery of the WWTW, is an odour masking agent containing perfume, similar to domestic air freshener,” she said. “It is used at all of our WWTW as a matter of course and is not something new.

“The second product has a stabilising effect on the sludge, and it is a biological product. This product is only applied directly into the sludge and not released into the air.”

Meanwhile, the City is also struggling with delays in refuse collection across the metropole with residents still experiencing delays in their bins being emptied. “As the system is working now, the bin should be cleared not later than two days after the regular collection day,” Limberg said. “Unfortunately, the City cannot say which day and at what time the refuse will be collected, but we guarantee that the bin will be cleared once a week.”

The delays have been happening since last year with the City attributing them to a delay in the maintenance of solid waste vehicles.