City's Roads and Stormwater Department at Full Stretch to Counter Flood Damage

Staff in the depots of the City's Roads and Stormwater Department were kept busy responding to calls about flooding. Heideveld Depot, for example, attended to 88 calls.

"This intense rainfall is fairly common at this time of the year," says the Mayoral Committe Member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater, Councillor Elizabeth Thompson.

"In Athlone, 35mm of intense rainfall was measured. The flooding experienced in some areas was primarily caused by blocked drains and the Roads and Stormwater Department is taking remedial action and assessing how a recurrence can be avoided," she said.

According to the Director: Roads and Stormwater, Henry du Plessis, the slopes of Table Mountain were particularly hard hit with heavy downpours which resulted in sections of De Waal Drive, Vredehoek and Bakoven being flooded.

Water from service roads in the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) found its way onto De Waal Drive and resulted in one lane being briefly closed. This water did not come from Table Mountain streams which are channelled beneath De Waal Drive by culverts because gabion weirs have been established in the stream beds above the pipe intakes to prevent flooding.

The TMNP authorities have been asked to take the necessary remedial action to prevent a future recurrence of water from their service roads flowing directly onto De Waal Drive.

There was also some localised flooding of properties in University Estate, just below De Waal Drive. The cause is being investigated by Roads and Stormwater personnel.

In Vredehoek, the pipe carrying the water flow from the Tin Mine Stream became partially blocked in the vicinity of Noordelik Road, causing water to flow down Crassula Road to De Waal Drive. Within an hour of this flooding being reported, Roads and Stormwater crews were on the site to remove rocks and mud from the road and clear the drain pipe blockage, which was found to have been caused by sandbags and a log jammed at a corner in the pipe.

The rocks deposited on Crassula and De Waal by the flood, did not, as was often the case in the past, come from the mountain slopes above Vredehoek because gabion weirs now prevent this. The rocks came from two small areas of open stream bed within Vredehoek itself.

In Bakoven a culvert conveying a mountain stream under Victoria Road became blocked by large rocks washed from the stream bank immediately upstream. This caused water to flow over the road and resulted in localised damage to nearby property. The road was not closed.

The N1 incoming lane was closed due to flooding between Koeberg Interchange and the Marine Drive bridge. This was caused by the canal running alongside the road overflowing because of a blockage near the harbour. The blockage, which is being investigated by port authorities, was cleared in the afternoon and the water level in the canal dropped substantially within minutes.

Roads and Stormwater crews were also kept busy in the informal settlements in the south eastern part of the city, supplying sand and pumping out flooded areas where this was feasible. Sand was supplied to Kanana, Never Never, Graveyard and Phola Park informal settlements. Pumping assistance was supplied at Klipfontein Mission and Marcus Garvey.

Issued by:
Communication Department
City of Cape Town