The City of Cape Town has called on residents to avoid dumping waste material in water drainage systems as this clogs up the system. This result in flooding when heavy rains come.
The City says at least 100 informal settlements have been affected by the heavy rains this week.
These include Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Delft, Gugulethu, Masiphumulele, Philippi and Langa.
The heavy downpours have resulted in power outages, localised flooding and a road collapse.
On Wednesday, the City authorities, including the mayor, visited Zone 30 in Langa to inspect efforts to pump out water on blocked drains.
Mayco Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith says heavy rains can overwhelm the water system.
“We haven’t had rains that heavy in many decades and it does overwhelm the storm water system in several places. Where that problem is aggravated, it’s places such as here in Langa where you have informal settlements where structures were build without the consent of the City and without underground infrastructure. In this particular case here in Shumpela street, in Langa, there is actually underground infrastructure but here the problem is the amount of waste that goes in, says Smith.
