Cape Town spends millions on a broken water treatment plant — critics say it’s money down the drain

The City of Cape Town has budgeted almost R12-million this year for a leachate treatment plant that is not operational. A total of R6.3-million of the R11.95-million allocated has already been spent.

The plant has been out of commission for six years.

Since 2017, the municipality has been spending R3-million a year on repairs to and maintenance of the plant – with no benefit to the city.

Details of the spend, which critics describe as wasteful, are contained in a report seen by Daily Maverick that was tabled before the urban waste management portfolio committee on Monday.

However, the city of Cape Town maintains that the budget was not considered wasteful expenditure and expressed optimism for a turnaround.

The Vissershok Leachate Treatment Plant was established in 2003 to treat leachate at the landfill site. The wastewater plant utilises a range of biological and mechanical processes and can treat 405 m³/day. The plant has consistently run under capacity with an average treated volume of 70/100 m³/day.

Both the biological and mechanical sections of the plant are currently non-operational due to “challenges” experienced since commissioning, according to the report.

In the interim, leachate is being routed to the Borcherds Quarry Wastewater Treatment Works.

Landfill leachate refers to the liquid that is generated when water comes into contact with waste materials deposited in a landfill. Rainwater or other sources of moisture percolate through the waste, dissolving and carrying various substances with it, forming landfill leachate.

As the liquid passes through the landfill, it picks up a mixture of organic and inorganic compounds, suspended solids, and microbial activity byproducts. The composition and characteristics of landfill leachate can vary depending on factors such as the type of waste, age of the landfill, climate and landfill management practices.

Upgrades and expansions were conducted in 2010 and completed in 2014, with the plant back in operation to treat raw leachate through a series of biological and mechanical processes to produce a potable water product that could be discharged to the natural watercourse or used for dust suppression on-site.

The plant was designed to operate around the clock.

However, the facility has never been in a state to fulfil its intended purpose despite the large capital investment of around R35-million, according to committee member and DA councillor Brendan van der Merwe.

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In 2022, in a report by the internal audit unit seen by Daily Maverick, it was discovered that the leachate plant at the landfill site was out of commission. The municipality was seemingly unaware of this.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the plant had been decommissioned for some time, to the extent that parts were beginning to rust.

Delta investigation

The municipality appointed Delta, a service provider, to assess the plant and come up with a plan to upgrade and operationalise the facility.

The investigation was completed in August 2023. It was found that the plant ran under capacity with an average treated volume of 70/100 m³/day. It also revealed that the biological and mechanical sections of the plant were non-operational.



The municipality was informed that due to the high concentration of recalcitrant chemical oxygen demand in the raw leachate, further upgrades – or further investment in biological treatment – were unlikely to yield an equivalent benefit in performance.

“Additionally, the deteriorating performance of the biological plant during the period of operation analysed was likely to get worse as a result of increased recalcitrant content as the landfill ages,” read the findings.

Operational challenges are also being caused by flawed design decisions.

It was suggested that viable ways in which the plant could be operated need to be investigated. Specialised service providers needed to be considered and a site visit needed to be arranged.

The report suggests that more than R6.5-million would be needed to repair the plant.

The facility falls under the urban waste management directorate, which faces issues of collapsed waste collection. In this regard, Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis recently suspended the executive director of urban waste management, Luzuko Mdunyelwa.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Cape Town waste management director suspended as communities drown in trash

Opposition responds

There have been calls for a forensic investigation to be initiated, which Mdunyelwa was looking into before he was suspended.

The ANC’s Delmaine Cottee, subcouncil 10 chairperson, said that for the past two years, they have been raising the issue of poor service delivery, poor management and maladministration of public funds at Vissershok.

“Two years ago we visited the site and identified several irregularities and poor supervision of the site. On 29 January, the same situation, if not worse, was explained to the portfolio committee members on our site visit.”

He said junior officials tried to cover up for senior officials, who he claimed were missing in action.

The ANC has proposed that a forensic investigation into the plant be opened and that senior officials be held accountable for mismanagement and wasteful expenditure.

“City taxpayers pay for the running of the facility but there has been no proper outcome at the facility for the past two years and more.”

Dwayne Jacobs from the National Coloured Congress, also serving on the committee, said that since the start of the new administration in 2021, questions had been asked about the plant’s operation.

“They gave us excuses and claimed that they were waiting for parts to conduct refurbishments, but the only refurbishment they did was on the tanks. If the DA administration knew that they did not have the assurance that this plant would work, why did they spend taxpayers’ money on an uncertain project? Also, why are the officials not held accountable as they are with other departments?”

DA councillor Brendan van der Merwe has submitted a motion that the portfolio committee should resolve to request the facility be operated by a competent external service provider.

“This alternative is being proposed to avoid incurring additional costs associated with appointing additional staff and incurring overtime, especially in the absence of a clear plan for the way forward, or a guaranteed outcome of a fully functional facility.”

He said that after the appointment of the external service provider, it was recommended that a turnaround plan be formulated.

“This plan should focus on ensuring the efficient operation of the leachate treatment plant and its alignment with the intended purpose.

It worked – once 

Responding to queries, the City of Cape Town said the full treatment system had at one point operated successfully and produced effluent of the targeted quality; however, this had not always been easy to maintain.

“One of the main reasons is the variation in the type and characteristics of waste being disposed of at the landfill, which resulted in unexpected changes in leachate quality. This has therefore resulted in frequent breakdowns.”

The municipality said the availability of imported spares and chemicals had also been a challenge at times, and said low rainfall resulted in more concentrated leachate than expected.

They also confirmed that for this year, a budget of R11,957,683 had been allocated to the leachate plant.

“​​The City would not characterise this as wasteful expenditure. In the design of the plant, the City opted to take a highly innovative approach that, if successful, would achieve leachate quality above and beyond what is required by legislation.

“Urban waste management is still optimistic that with a few upgrades and operational changes, the system can operate successfully and serve the City for many years to come. Lessons learned here will stand the City in good stead in similar projects going forward.”

The municipality said it will use the recommendations in the Delta investigation to ensure successful operation at the required capacity. DM