The City of Cape Town has announced that repairs to a critical bulk sewer line in Khayelitsha are nearing completion, with expectations that the work will be finalized within a month. The urgency for these repairs came after numerous sinkholes developed in the SST informal settlement and Lansdowne Road informal settlement in Makhaza, due to the collapse of an underground pipe. This incident resulted in the flooding of streets with raw sewage, leading to severe health hazards for local residents.

To facilitate these repairs, the City has temporarily relocated dozens of families who resided in shacks above the damaged pipeline. These families have been moved to temporary housing solutions made of zinc in Green Point, a nearby area. While repair work continues, the City has implemented a temporary solution by installing a temporary high-density polyethylene pipe that stretches approximately two kilometers to help manage sewage flow until the repairs are complete.

In Makhaza, excavation and repair work for the collapsed pipes is currently underway, with a contractor set to be appointed shortly to address the situation in the SST settlement. This significant infrastructure project not only aims to restore essential sanitation services for residents but also highlights the ongoing challenges faced by Cape Town in maintaining its ageing sewer infrastructure, particularly in informal settlements where development often lacks necessary planning and investment.