Cape Town Upholds That Beach Water Quality Remains ‘Consistently High’

The City of Cape Town maintains that its popular beaches have shown “consistently high water quality” throughout the holiday season, despite conflicting statements from environmental advocates.

In a press release issued on Monday afternoon, the city reported that out of 297 water samples taken from recognized swimming areas across its “30 most frequented coastal recreational zones,” 100% complied with recreational use standards during the festive season.

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The city’s remarks came in response to claims made by the ‘Bays of Sewage’ community group, endorsed by three scholars, including water expert Professor Anthony Turton, who argue that the Cape metro is “not fully transparent” regarding water quality and the blue flag status of certain beaches.

“From a scientific sampling viewpoint, the testing protocol used by the City of Cape Town is inadequate and misleading for reaching the conclusions shared, hence it is deceptive to claim that the beaches are safe for swimming,” Turton states.

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The statement references a recent research report – Project Blue – led by Dr. Jo Barnes from Stellenbosch University and Professor Leslie Petrik from the University of the Western Cape.

This research indicated that three out of seven water samples collected from two Blue Flag beaches between November 26 and December 6 exceeded the recommended thresholds for the bacteria enterococci—one at Camps Bay and two at Clifton 4th Beach.

Enterococci and E. coli are both bacteria linked to sewage contamination in water.

Project Blue

Project Blue was a focused citizen-driven investigation into seawater quality at selected beaches around the Cape Peninsula, specifically on the Table Bay and False Bay coasts. Samples were collected from these areas in November and December.

The results showed that safety limits for E. coli and enterococci were exceeded on 42% of sampling dates on the Table Bay side, while 38% of the dates on the False Bay side indicated unsafe contamination levels.

Especially concerning were the readings from the Soet River Mouth in Strand, which showed “exceptionally high” bacterial levels, posing significant risks to public health and safety.

Recommendations

The report recommends that the city pursue objective and independent assessments of water quality at its beaches that are “not conducted wholly or partially by the city.”

The researchers assert that testing for E. coli and enterococci is the standard practice for detecting sewage presence in environmental waters.

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“Traditionally, the advice has been to test for E. coli in freshwater and enterococci in brackish or seawater; however, solely relying on one of the two organisms over the last decade results in an underestimation of risks.”

The scientists recommend that both organisms should be included in all testing protocols, claiming that relying on just one could lead to misleading conclusions about risks in an “unacceptable number of cases.”

City’s response

According to the City of Cape Town’s statement, extensive sampling has been performed at its beaches, with “hundreds of samples” undergoing independent analysis by a laboratory accredited by the South African National Accreditation System (Sanas) for seawater testing.

The outcomes indicated “consistently high” water quality.

The city stresses that the enterococci counts are recognized as the “internationally accepted gold standard” for assessing coastal water quality concerning associated risks to human health.