[Image: CoCT]
Brace yourselves, Zeekoevlei is about to get a serious deep clean. The City’s Spatial Planning and Environment Directorate is ramping up preparations for a massive dredging operation that will span roughly two years.
If all goes according to plan, the physical dredging of two sections – Storm Bay and Home Bay – will kick off in May 2025.
In the coming weeks, expect a hive of activity near the False Bay Nature Reserve as contractors move in to set up shop. They’ll be preparing roads, constructing dewatering ponds, and installing two pipelines. This isn’t just routine maintenance, it’s a full-scale intervention to revive the vlei’s struggling ecosystem.
Zeekoevlei sits within the False Bay Nature Reserve, a globally recognised Ramsar site, and the City itself holds Ramsar accreditation. Cleaning up the vlei is, therefore, a local priority as well as an international commitment tied to the Mayoral Priority Programme (MPP): Sanitation and Inland Water Quality.
Why does this matter? Decades of sediment build-up and nutrient overload have led to excessive algal blooms, which choke the water quality and endanger recreational use.
“Improving the water quality at Zeekoevlei is one of our top priorities, and I am pleased to announce that after many months of preparations we are now at the point where the contractor is on site, getting the necessary infrastructure in place to commence with the dredging of two sections of the waterbody by May this year,” said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.
“The dredging of Zeekoevlei will also assist in removing pollutants and improving the overall health of this ecosystem. The intention is to dredge and remove as much of the nutrient-rich sediment as possible over a period of two years or so.”
This is no ordinary dredging project. The last time the City dredged Zeekoevlei was in 1983, and this time, it’s going bigger. Instead of using a crane from the shore, crews will deploy a floating suction dredger, a first for the City, to extract the organic-rich sediment from the lakebed.
“We are excited about this project and will let the public know once the pontoon is on site,” said Alderman Andrews.
What’s Happening on the Ground?
Dredging isn’t a plug-and-play process; it requires meticulous groundwork. Here’s what you need to know:
- Two sections will be dredged: Storm Bay first, then Home Bay.
- Sediment will be pumped through a 4.3km slurry pipeline to dewatering ponds.
- Hydrographic surveys will be conducted every two weeks to track progress.
- The contractor will build rubble mound bund walls and dewatering sumps to manage water flow and drying.
- A 2.3km pipeline will transport excess water to the Cape Flats Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTWs).
- Access roads in the Cape Flats WWTWs area will be upgraded to handle heavy loads of dredged material.
What Does This Mean for You?
- Work is scheduled Monday to Saturday, with occasional work on Sundays and public holidays if necessary.
- Expect noise during working hours, and, yes, there will be some odour as the organic sediment is disturbed.
- Recreational activities like rowing and sailing can continue, but certain areas will be off-limits for safety reasons.
- Birdwatching and general access to the vlei remain open, but some parts of the False Bay Nature Reserve will be restricted.
- The City will provide updates as dredging progresses, so stay tuned for further announcements.
This is a once-in-a-generation project to restore one of Cape Town’s most important water bodies.
It’s going to be big, it’s going to be messy, but in the end, Zeekoevlei will be all the better for it.
[Source: City of Cape Town]
