Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, with Drainman at a billboard of the Don't be a pain in the drain campaign awareness opposite Nyanga Station.
Image: supplied
The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate has officially launched its “Don’t Be a Pain in the Drain” public awareness campaign.
The campaign is an ongoing initiative to curb sewer blockages and educate residents on everyday household habits that lead to severe plumbing overflows.
It also highlights the dangers of building informal structures over City manholes and installing illegal connections between stormwater and sewer networks.
The campaign features a new local character called "Drainman," the multi-platform campaign spans video series, print advertisements, radio spots, and billboards.
Drainman on site with the City’s Pinelands Depot team attending to a sewer blockage in Gugulethu.
Image: supplied
Call for responsible action
According to the City,** sewer blockages are entirely preventable and stem directly from system misuse or illegal dumping.**
Zahid Badroodien, the Mayoral** Committee Member of Water and Sanitation said: “What occurs within our sewer system directly affects our local streets and public spaces, even if this infrastructure remains largely hidden from view.”**
City officials stress that treating toilets and manholes as trash receptacles diverts critical funds away from municipal upgrades to pay for preventable emergency clearings.
"Every time someone flushes or dumps wet wipes, rags, rubble, oil and other items that don’t belong in the sewer, it places an enormous and unnecessary burden on the City’s resources," Badroodien said.
To prevent neighbourhood spills, the City advises residents to stick strictly to the "Three Ps" rule—flushing only pee, poo, and toilet paper.
Residents are urged to take the following steps to protect community infrastructure:
Recently the City of Cape Town has initiated urgent infrastructure repairs to address major sewer pipe collapses impacting sanitation services across Khayelitsha.
Badroodien said: “These sewer collapses are affecting critical infrastructure that serves communities across Khayelitsha.”
He acknowledged the challenges relocations pose for impacted residents, emphasising that moving is essential to grant maintenance teams secure access to damaged areas and enable repairs to be effected.
To report infrastructure concerns such as sewer overflows, missing manhole covers, or illegal dumping, members of the public can use the City of Cape Town Service Request Portal or contact the municipality through any of its official reporting options.
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