Drainman on site with the City’s Pinelands Depot team attending to a sewer blockage in Gugulethu.
Image: Supplied
The City of Cape Town's sewer teams recorded more than 90 000 sewer blockages in just one year, with the City saying most blockages could have been prevented.
A total of 90,002 blockages were recorded during the 2025/26 financial year, about 2,000 more than the previous year.
That’s roughly 247 blocked sewers every day.
The City attributed 59,729 blockages to rags, sanitary items and other foreign objects.
Fats accounted for 11,678 blockages, while 7, 627 were attributed to sand and 7,443 to roots.
Infrastructure collapses accounted for 2,289 blockages, while building material was linked to 1,236.
The figures were released by the City on Thursday, August 27, 2026 as it launched another drive to get residents to stop using toilets and drains as dumping grounds.
Mayoral Committee member for Water and Sanitation member for Water and Sanitation Zahid Badroodien said more than 80% of sewer blockages could be prevented.
“Even though our sewer system infrastructure is out of sight and often out of mind, what happens in our sewer system has a very real impact on the streets and spaces in our community.
“We all have roles to play in preventing blockages and sewer overflows,” Badroodien said.
He said wet wipes, nappies, building rubble and other waste were among the items being dumped or flushed into the system, placing pressure on City resources.
The problem does not always stay underground. Apart from rags and sanitary items, the City says wet wipes, nappies, building rubble and other rubbish continue to end up in the sewer network. Cooking fats and oils harden inside pipes and contribute to thousands more blockages.
When sewer lines become blocked, sewage can back up and overflow into roads and public spaces, leaving City teams having to clear the obstruction and clean affected areas, Badroodien said.
The figures come during the same week that a separate sewage problem at Kuyasa Primary School in Khayelitsha has disrupted schooling.
Cape Argus reported this week that learners have missed more than a week of classes after a burst sewer pipe resulted in sewage affecting the school premises.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) told Cape Argus on Thursday that cleaning and remedial work had been delayed after contractors raised safety concerns.
But the City’s own breakdown attributes only 2.5% of the blockages recorded during the year to collapsed infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the City has launched its latest “Don’t Be a Pain in the Drain” campaign in an effort to reduce preventable sewer blockages.
Badroodien said residents had a role to play in reducing the number of blockages being dealt with by municipal teams.
The City has asked residents to use bins for solid waste and not flush or pour anything down toilets and drains that the sewer system was not designed to carry.
