CITY OF CAPE TOWN WINTER READINESS OPERATIONAL PLAN
Below is a detailed outline of the City of Cape Town’s Winter Readiness Plan
for 2015/16, aimed at mitigating the impact of adverse weather conditions
prevalent between May and September each year. The plan includes a
number of departments and covers aspects like safety and security,
cleansing and social development. The plan is outlined below by directorate:
SAFETY AND SECURITY
The City’s Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Centre is responsible for
coordinating the City’s winter readiness plan.
The Winter Readiness Task Team which comprises a multi-disciplinary team of
City and supporting external agencies will be introducing various flood risk
reduction measures with the aim of countering and mitigating the adverse
effects of the winter rainfall periods across the city.
The DRM Centre has intensified its public education and preparedness
programme, particularly in informal settlements located over the Cape Flats
area; and has employed 18 Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)
workers who have been trained to do education and awareness about the
dangers of floods.
The flood risk reduction focus has now also taken into account areas which
are vulnerable to weather events such as urban, riverine and estuarine areas.
As part of this preparedness programme, residents are given practical tips on
how to raise floor levels, divert flood waters, and reduce health hazards
associated with stagnant water. Apart from running public awareness
sessions in at-risk communities, the department also issues weather warnings
and alerts based on advisories received from the South African Weather
Service.
Various emergency shelters have been identified to help minimise the
disruption of lives and community activities. Residents will be encouraged to
first try and find alternative accommodation with neighbours, friends or
families before being housed in community facilities. The City’s Disaster Risk
Management Centre has instituted arrangements with disaster relief partners
who can provide humanitarian aid to persons in distress and discomfort
affected by flooding and storms.
UTILITY SERVICES
The City has spent a considerable amount of money on cleaning stormwater
systems and minimising system blockages. The Department of Solid Waste
Management has created 758 temporary jobs and spent R10,3 million for its
cleaning programme.
This represents a considerable increase in allocation since 2015, which saw just under
700 temporary jobs created and R7,5 million spent on its cleaning programme.
The cleaning of sewer mains is continuous and occurs throughout the year. On
average, the increase in blockages is approximately 15% in winter which translates
to an approximate increase in annual costs of about 12% to clear the sewers as a
result of illegal dumping of stormwater ingress specifically.
Approximately 75% of all sewer blockages are as a result of by-law contraventions.
For this financial year, the Water and Sanitation Department has spent
approximately R272 million on infrastructure maintenance and repairs (74.8% relating
to by-law contravention at approximately R204 million).
The department has also invested in education and awareness campaigns and
developed brochures in order to inform residents on causes of blockages. To date,
R1,4 million has been spent for this financial year (value excludes the costs for
brochures) in order to communicate the message around sewer blockage
prevention and created 221 employment opportunities through the Expanded
Public Works Programme.
In addition, as part of the Janitorial programme, the Water & Sanitation Department
has invested approximately R42 million and created an additional 2 126
employment opportunities. This service is to ensure the surrounds and full flush toilets
are cleaned on a regular basis in informal settlements.
Aside from the direct benefit to workers of employment, these measures have
minimized the risk of flooding as a result of litter and dumping. The dumping of
inappropriate items into the sewer system is by far the number one cause of flooding
and reticulation system faults. The system is designed to cope perfectly with natural
and liquid materials entering it, so faults and flooding are for the most part avoidable
events. Residents can ensure that items such as rags, stones, and cooking fat are
disposed of correctly (not into the sewer system). Residents also need to ensure that
their stormwater downpipes are not diverted into the sewer system.
TRANSPORT FOR CAPE TOWN (TCT)
The Transport for Cape Town (TCT) Planning Department is responsible for 7
500 km of pipes and culverts (underground conduits), 180 000 catch-pits, 85
000 manholes, 850 stormwater ponds and 1 200 km of rivers, canals and open
channels.
The Winter Readiness Programme entails maintenance and cleaning of
stormwater and river systems to ensure that the stormwater network performs
as intended during rainfall events.
Areas prone to flooding
The following are considered high-flood hazard areas and therefore receive
additional attention in terms of cleaning and maintenance:
 Areas below steep mountain slopes denuded by fire resulting in higher
runoff and potential mudflows
 Floodplains of watercourses, rivers, canals and channels
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Areas above major underground infrastructure where overland flows
occur in flood conditions
Informal settlements on marginal or poorly drained land
Trapped, low-lying areas without adequate overland flow routes
(situations such as this are common in many of the older areas of Cape
Town)
Areas where informal houses are within or adjacent to stormwater
detention ponds
Low-lying coastal areas susceptible to flooding due to wave action or
abnormal tidal effects
Informal settlement stormwater interventions
Informal settlements are given high priority and maintenance efforts focus on
the formal and open drainage systems either surrounding or within the
settlements, with an increase in inspections and cleaning in the run-up to the
winter rainfall season. Efficient and effective maintenance of the stormwater
network is crucial to limit the impact of potential flooding on communities.
River and stormwater pond cleaning
Work in this regard focuses on the removal of aquatic weeds, reeds and
other vegetation which impede the flow of water or has the potential to
result in blockages at bridges and flow control structures. Specialised river
and stormwater network cleaning equipment, which comprises specially
adapted long-reach excavators and wheeled loaders, is deployed across
the metropolitan area.
Pipe cleaning
Removal of silt and other debris from underground pipes and culverts is both
difficult and costly. In the 2015/206 financial year, R30 million has been
budgeted for hiring of specialised pipe cleaning equipment supplied and
operated by annual contracted services.
Intakes/catch-pits
Intakes alongside roadways and their connection pipes are cleaned on a
cyclic basis at frequencies determined by the rate of debris accumulation.
This work is largely undertaken by hand crews provided by private
contractors who also employ local labour. In instances where high levels of
pollution (grey water and night soils decanting associated with informal
settlements and dense housing areas, including backyarders) are
encountered, drain cleaning suction tankers operated by private annual
contractors are utilised for health and productivity reasons. Each of the eight
operational districts has dedicated access to two such units.
Key projects
The Winter Readiness Programme is supported by the following key projects:
 The Kader Asmal River Cleaning Project which is managed by the
Environmental Resource Management Department and assists in the
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removal of invasive aquatic and terrestrial plants along key river
corridors such as the Black, Diep, Lourens, Kuils and Eerste Rivers.
The Mayor’s Special Job Creation Programme – an Expanded Public
Works Programme focusing on the cleaning of critical stormwater
infrastructure in high-flood risk areas across the city. The project will
create approximately 960 work opportunities in the 2015/2016 financial
year. Local labour, sourced through subcouncils, is deployed to clean
catch-pits and open stormwater channels throughout the city to
minimise flood risk and to improve water quality by removing windblown debris and solid waste from the stormwater system.
Annual contractual tenders: various annual tenders are in place to
assist with cleaning and maintenance activities of stormwater
infrastructure. These include mechanical cleaning, labour-intensive
cleaning, underground inspections using CCTV, and minor stormwater
works.
All critical stormwater retention ponds are inspected regularly, with
particular emphasis on removing debris from outlet structures. Various
specialised machines are used to maintain the rivers and ponds to
ensure that the hydraulic function of the stormwater system remains
intact.
Response to impact of South Peninsula mountain fires 2015 and 2016
Special attention is given to intakes of mountain streams since the extensive
2015 fires which devastated over 5 000 Ha of the South Peninsula mountain
chain. This left the mountain catchment areas vulnerable to extensive erosion
and possible damage to downstream infrastructure and property. A rigorous
assessment of the fire-damaged area was undertaken by various specialists.
This assessment identified high-risk areas that were or still are in the process of
being treated by a range of interventions to minimise flood risk to lower-lying
areas.
The areas affected by the more recent fires in 2016 were assessed and
prioritised for implementation of mitigation and remedial measures. Mitigation
work has already commenced in the Simon’s Town and Fish Hoek areas.
Response to the impact of the Lourens River flood
TCT has also introduced various emergency flood alleviation measures along
the Lourens River in Somerset West as a result of the flooding experienced
towards the end of 2013. These include:
 Removal of debris, trees and boulders that affect river flow
 Repair and reinstatement of flood-damaged erosion protection
measures
 Installation of additional erosion protection measures, including gabion
walls, Reno mattresses and retaining walls
 The construction of a cut-off berm in Radloff Park protecting
downstream property against a 1:50 year flood event
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Negotiations were successful to register servitudes to construct two
additional cut-off walls that will protect Somerset West against a 1:10
year flood and provide major relief even in a 1:50 year flood event. The
contract to construct these walls and other flood alleviation measures
was awarded during April 2016 and will take 18 months to complete
Pollution abatement strategies
A number of pollution abatement strategies, which are also contributing to
the effectiveness on the Winter Readiness Programme, have been
developed including, among others, the Phola Park stormwater canal
upgrade. This project saw the transformation of a highly polluted stormwater
canal in Phola Park into a pedestrian, user-friendly environment. The project
was successfully completed during the 2015/16 financial year. This
intervention has improved the stormwater flow and water quality, reduced
the maintenance cost, and improved the safety and living conditions of the
residents in Phola Park.
Budget provision
The current budget (2015/2016) for proactive maintenance (mainly cleaning)
of stormwater facilities by means of contracted services totals approximately
R93 million for the whole city and R130 million has been budgeted for
reactive maintenance work, such as responding to complaints and flood
incidents.
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
The City identifies high-risk areas each year. Some of the areas include
informal settlements which are located in, for instance, nature reserves which
have abnormally high water tables, increasing the risk of flooding.
Apart from our annual investment in infrastructure upgrades, maintenance
work, awareness and education as well as ad hoc service requests for sand
or emergency building kits, some of our flood mitigation measures (where it is
possible to do so) include the design and implementation of innovative
engineering solutions to reduce the instances of extreme flooding in low-lying
informal settlements across the city, which are topographically unsuitable for
habitation. This includes flood mitigation re-blocking and also the
construction of hardened raised gravel platforms and engineered drainage
solutions. Stormwater earth drains are constructed, while local access roads
are raised and shaped to reduce the flooding of roadways.
The creation of hardened gravel platforms has been successfully competed
in, among others, Los Angeles, Green Park and Masiphumelele informal
settlements. While this intervention is not possible in all informal settlements, it
is encouraging that the department is aiming to roll it out in as many
settlements as possible.
The City’s re-blocking programme, which redesigns informal settlements in
such a way as to improve access for emergency vehicles, is another way that
the City is trying to reduce the occurrence of extreme flooding in winter and
to reduce the impact of destructive fires in the summer months.
The Directorate is working closely with communities and other City
departments to, as far as possible, ensure that the residents whose homes are
vulnerable to flooding are cared for.
Reducing the flood risk is a shared responsibility and the City appeals to
residents to do their bit by:
 clearing out drainage systems on their properties
 raising the floor level of their homes so that it is higher than the land
outside
 moving to higher ground if they stay in a flood-prone area
 digging trenches around the house to divert water away from the
home
 reporting blocked drains, intakes and illegal dumping
 waterproofing roofs, clearing gutters and removing dead tree
branches
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
Over and above its ongoing efforts to reintegrate people living on the street,
the City of Cape Town’s Social Development and Early Childhood
Development Directorate also provides aid to non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) as part of its Winter Readiness Programme for street
people. Each year, the directorate procures food, blankets, mattresses and
toiletries that are distributed to qualifying NGOs who work with street people.
In 2014, 16 organisations qualified for aid and the number increased to 17 in
2015. Aid for 2016 will start being distributed in June, once the application
process has been finalised.