Cape Town: The City of Cape Town has proactively jet-cleaned a record 625.5 km of sewer pipelines as part of its winter preparedness efforts. It exceeded its annual target by more than three times. The R207.9 million investment in preventative maintenance is designed to minimise the risk of sewer blockages and overflows resulting from foreign objects, illegal stormwater connections and higher volumes of rainwater infiltrating the sewer system.
Throughout the year, operational teams carry out an extensive maintenance programme to ensure that pipelines, pump stations and other sewer infrastructure are in their best possible condition. Preventative cleaning is especially prioritised before winter, when rain is likely to enter the network, as this has proven to be one of the City’s most effective measures to reduce sewer spills before they occur.
On Thursday, June 25, 2026 the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Water and Sanitation – Councillor Zahid Badroodien joined maintenance teams in action during routine sewer jet-cleaning in Kraaifontein. The City managed a vast wastewater network comprising approximately 10,000 km of sewer pipelines, 487 sewer pump stations, sand traps and other critical infrastructure. This will be done to keep the system in flow with required frequent inspection, maintenance and sometimes rapid response all year round.
Considering this, Cllr Zahid Badroodien stated that the sanitation is fundamentally about dignity, public health and creating communities where residents can live with confidence in the services they rely on every day. Through the Mayoral Priority Programme on Sanitation, they have deliberately focused on long-term, preventative interventions that address the root causes of sewer overflows rather than simply responding to them after the fact.
According to Badroodien, this sewer jetting programme is a key deliverable of their commitment. By dramatically increasing proactive cleaning across the sewer network, they have reduced sewer overflows by approximately 32%.
Notably, these results demonstrate what can be achieved when they take a bigger-picture approach to service delivery and investing in the infrastructure, maintenance and operational excellence needed to protect residents. This upholds sanitation dignity and build a more resilient city for generations to come.