CAPE TOWN – A devastating act of vandalism at the Cafda valve chamber near Lavender Hill left thousands of residents across the Deep South and Southern Suburbs without water for two days last weekend, sparking calls for tougher action against infrastructure crime.
The water supply disruption, which occurred from Friday 9 to Saturday 10 January, affected entire communities when vandals damaged critical valves that manage water supply to the region.
These areas included: Ottery, Grassy Park, Retreat, Pelican Park, Steenberg, Lavender Hill, Lotus River, Phumlani, Eagle Park, Plumstead, Simon’s Town, Seawinds, Pelican Park, Schaapkraal, parts of Wynberg, Lansdowne, Peacock Close and Muizenberg.
Mayco member for water and sanitation Zahid Badroodien confirmed that the water supply disruption was due to the vandalising of valves in the Cafda valve chamber near Lavender Hill.
The valves manage water supply to the affected areas.
“The initial incident of vandalism was attended to. Unfortunately, a secondary leak arose that needed to be repaired after the initial issue was resolved,” Badroodien explained.
Once the vandalism was discovered, the City conducted emergency repairs to the damaged 500mm and 600mm diameter valves.
Repairs were completed that Friday evening, with the secondary leak fixed on Saturday, allowing water supply restoration later that day.
Water tankers were deployed where possible during the outage, and residents were given advance notice to store water before supplies were temporarily shut down for safety during repairs.
“The City informed the public before work started to give residents time to store water before the supply was temporarily shut down to ensure work could commence safely. We thank residents for their patience while work was taking place. We also thank the ward councillors for their help, including keeping their communities updated on the progress of this work and information for tanker locations,” he added.
Councillors demand action
Ward 65 Councillor Donovan Nelson, whose entire Ward 65 was left without water, described the experience as a “very difficult two days” for the community.
“While most residents were patient and understanding, it did not help knowing that this could have been prevented if thieves did not try and steal City equipment,” Nelson said.
He emphasised the need for better infrastructure security and continued investment in replacement bulk water pipes to prevent future incidents.
Ward 68 Councillor Marita Petersen called for a more aggressive approach to tackling vandalism, revealing the repair costs amounted to millions of rand.
“I think we need to take a more cut-throat approach to vandalism and property damage,” Petersen said.
“So many residents were affected and obviously were not prepared for the extended days of not having water in the taps.”
Petersen urged residents to overcome their reluctance to report perpetrators, highlighting the anonymous reporting system available.
She also suggested authorities should “zoom in on the scrapyards” as part of anti-vandalism efforts.
Infrastructure strain concerns
Grassy Park resident Terence Klassen raised deeper questions about the area’s infrastructure capacity, suggesting the problems extend beyond vandalism.
“We are concerned that the infrastructure is giving in,” he said.
“When massive underground valves give in, one just wonders if it’s not because the system is under massive strain due to rapidly expanding densification.”
He attributed increased pressure on infrastructure to people being pushed out of the city to the Cape Flats due to gentrification, arguing that fixing one weak spot simply shifts the problem elsewhere in the system.
“City planners need to seriously look at the carrying capacity of our electricity and water supply as well as roads before passing any development in our areas,” Klassen added.
He said water pressure has still not returned to normal levels, remaining extremely weak.
The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate strongly condemned the vandalism, calling it criminal action that hampers service delivery and causes massive inconvenience.
“We need the community’s help to root out vandalism because it negatively affects our communities,” the City stated. Residents are urged to report theft and vandalism incidents to the Public Emergency Communication Centre on 021 480 7700 or use the anonymous 24-hour tip-off line on 0800 110 077.
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