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THE Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s four sewerage works are being refurbished and hundreds of metres of pipeline are being enlarged to cope with a mushrooming population – and the expected influx of soccer tourists next year.

Responding to questions around the apparently increasing number of sewage leaks around the city, and perceptions of deteriorating infrastructure and inadequate maintenance, municipal spokesman Kupido Baron said R380-million had been budgeted in the sanitation master plan for a three-year upgrade.

The programme includes expanding the capacity of the Driftsands, Cape Recife, Fishwater Flats, Calvin Jones and Rocklands waste-water treatment works.

Another part of this programme was “augmenting” the pipeline (installing pipes with a larger diameter) and this work was already under way in the Linga Longa Bridge and Kragga Kamma Road area where 1,5km of sewers was being augmented. “Our sewerage infrastructure is in fair to good shape. Sufficient capacity exists to accommodate current developments.”

The Wildlife and Environment Society (Wessa) has raised some concern about the alignment of the city’s central sewerage pipeline along the south side of the Baakens River.

Wessa spokesman David Franklin said while the routing was not problematic if the pipe was maintained regularly, it posed a threat if the maintenance regime faltered.

“There is maintenance, currently – but we don’t believe there is enough.”

The danger lay in the close proximity of the pipeline to the river, and the instability of the substrate along the banks in places. Erosion or slippage could result in damage to pipes, he said.

“If there is a spill into the river, it can knock the water quality. Different sewage has different toxicity. Wildlife like buck and otters could become sick or even die from drinking it.

“Even if it is not toxic, a spill can de-oxygenate the water, leading to dying-off of fish and other organisms in the river.”

Humans are not directly hit by this situation, but the Baakens flows into Algoa Bay, from where it can foul bathing waters and Blue Flag beaches, one of the city’s most precious tourist drawcards. Port Elizabeth’s Blue Flag beaches include Kings Beach and Wells Estate.

Asked about this issue, Baron said a sewer reticulation system was typically a gravity system and would always be routed along lower-lying ground. “This prevents the need for excessive additional maintenance and costs associated with pump stations.”

There were no current plans to realign the Baakens River sewer, he said.

Pump stations were installed where the valley floor flattened out and the gravity- fed sewage lost impetus. If it was allowed to collect too much, this was where blockages could occur. The pump stations pumped the effluent to a high point on the side of the valley before directing it back down again.

All the pump stations in the city were being refurbished, explained a former municipal engineer, who asked not to be named.

“The problem is that there are 70 of them and there is a shortage of skilled and experienced manpower in this department. There is also a lack of funding and clear, well-organised maintenance schedules. So it’s taking a while.”

However, Baron rejected the suggestion that there was any shortfall in this regard.

Wessa said another concern was that stormwater was being routed illegally into the sewer, placing even more of a load on an already overloaded system. This was being done apparently by rogue contractors as a way of cutting costs because the sewer was often more easily accessible than the stormwater system.

Baron refrained from commenting on the allegation, but confirmed that the practice was strictly illegal.

Across town, the Zwartkops Trust said regular sewage events were materialising in the Papenkuils River to the extent that the NMBM “appears to be using it as part of its sewerage system”.

Trust conservation officer Jenny Rump said that both accidental spills and this practice, if it did apply, had to be stopped. The trust is also calling for water quality testing to be done on the upper Swartkops River and for the results to be made public.

It has hailed the reed-bed sewage filtration system at the Motherwell canal, but called for a detailed maintenance plan to be entrenched as well.