70 SEWERAGE OF THE CAPE PENINSULA. 



already at considerable cost carried out a system of main sewer- 

 age for their respective areas. 



In the first place I shall briefly deal with the latter Munici- 

 palities, viz. : Cape Town, Green and Sea Point, Wynberg, 

 Kalk Bay and Muizenberg, and also Simonstown. 



Cape Town, with a population of 66,500, can now boast 

 of an efficient and well-designed systcim of main sewerage, 

 which has cost the city £258,875. The main outfall is near the 

 Lighthouse at Green Point, where the sewage is discharged 

 into the sea. This constant flow of so large a volume of crude 

 sewage, without any attempt, even roughly, to screen it before 

 discharge into the sea — the foreshore of which is covered with 

 dwellings in very close proximity — may have been deemed satis- 

 factory at the time of its construction, but I think that time has 

 arrived when the matter should be re-considered by the 

 authority responsible. As time rolls on, this discharge of 

 crude sewage will increase, and enlightened public opinion will 

 demand a less objectionable method of disposal. 



The marine suburb of Green Point and Sea Point has also 

 carried out on the whole a very satisfactory system of sewer- 

 age, at a cost of about £50,000. Exception must, however, 

 be taken to the main intercepting sewer in Beach Road, which 

 is evidently laid with a very flat gradient, necessitating fre- 

 quent cleansing. No doubt this state of affairs could be 

 largely remedied by the construction of automatic flushing 

 chambers at suitable points. The outfall sewer discharges 

 crude sewage into the sea a short distance to the east of the 

 Hall Road Railway Station, and it is generally admitted that 

 a great improvement would be effected if the point of discharge 

 were carried further out to sea. 



Going southward from Cape Town, Wynberg is the nearest 

 Municipality that has provided a system of sewerage for the 

 Wynberg portion of its area. The main outfall is laid along 

 Ottery Road, and gravitates to the sewage disposal works, 

 where it is treated on the bacterial system, and the effluent is 

 used for irrigation on a small farm near Princess Vlei. The 

 cost of this scheme, including the recent relaying of the 24" 

 C.I. pipe outfall sewer and sundry necessary alterations at 

 the sewage disposal works, has been about £118,000. 



The Plumstead portion of the municipality is still unsewered. 

 the pail system being in use, but the existing disposal works 

 and farm are capable of dealing with the sewage from this 

 portion whenever the system is extended over the whole area 

 of the municipality. Wynberg, with its plentiful supply of 

 water and storage capacity, and its system of sewerage, occu- 

 pies the enviable position of being self-contained within its 

 municipal area, and is therefore so far independent of all the 

 other unsewered municipalities in the Peninsula. 



Kalk Bay and Muizenberg Municipality next claims atten- 

 tion as being in possession of a recently-completed sewerage 

 system. The cost has been very heavy, and necessitates two 

 pumping stations. Altogether, the sum of £95,201 has been 

 spent on this scheme, including an installation of electric 

 lighting. I do not wish to criticise this enormous expenditure 



