Cape Town’s sewage treatment isn’t coping: scientists are worried about what the city is telling the public

By Lesley Green, Professor of Earth Politics and Director: Environmental Humanities South, University of Cape Town
Cecilia Yejide Ojemaye, Researcher, University of Cape Town
Jo Barnes, Senior Lecturer Emeritus, Stellenbosch University
Leslie Petrik, Professor / Leader of the Environmental and Nanoscience Research Group, University of the Western Cape
Nikiwe Solomon, Senior Lecturer, University of Cape Town
Vanessa Farr, Senior Research Fellow, Sheffield Hallam University

Urban water bodies – rivers, lakes and oceans – are in trouble globally. Large sewage volumes damage the open environment, and new chemicals and pharmaceutical compounds don’t break down on their own. When they are released into the open environment, they build up in living tissues all along the food chain, bringing with them multiple health risks.

The city of Cape Town, South Africa, is no exception. It has 300km of coastline along two bays and a peninsula, as well as multiple…

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