Despite Project Blue's concerns, the City of Cape Town maintains that its independent water tests show high-quality standards, ensuring safety at popular beaches.
Image: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers
The City of Cape Town has refuted the findings of the Project Blue report, which raises concerns over coastal water quality and the City’s water testing protocols.
While the City asserts its commitment to maintaining high water quality standards, Project Blue has challenged its transparency, citing alarming levels of pollution at several beaches.
IOL has reported that Project Blue revealed discrepancies between the City of Cape Town’s claims and actual water quality.
Project Blue claims that nearly 40% of sampled beaches exceeded safety limits for E. coli and enterococci, contradicting the City’s public statements.
The report highlighted contamination at prominent Blue Flag beaches, including Camps Bay and Clifton 4th, where bacterial levels allegedly exceeded safe thresholds. This directly opposes Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis' assertion that Cape Town’s beaches maintained “excellent water quality” standards.
However, the City disputes these findings, emphasising that its own sampling results, conducted by SANAS-accredited laboratories, consistently show excellent water quality at Cape Town’s beaches.
Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews said, “Cape Town’s Blue Flag beaches are subjected to additional water sampling by a second SANAS-accredited laboratory, ensuring reliable and scientifically valid results.”
A key point of contention is Project Blue report’s assertion that its testing used SANAS-accredited laboratories. The City’s investigation revealed that the laboratories used were either not accredited for seawater microbiology analyses or had lost their SANAS accreditation.
“The Project Blue report includes misleading information regarding the accreditation status of the laboratories used,” Andrews said.
Despite the City’s detailed rebuttal, water expert Anthony Turton, representing Project Blue, argues that the core issue is being overshadowed.
"The SANAS accreditation debate is a red herring. The real problem is the pollution of aquatic ecosystems by the discharge of untreated sewage, which directly affects marine protected areas,” Turton said.
Project Blue has pointed to the City’s three marine outfall pipelines (MOPs), which discharge untreated sewage into the ocean, as a significant contributor to pollution. Turton explained that emerging scientific concerns, such as PFAS contamination, microplastics, and drug-resistant pathogens, highlight the need for updated protocols.
“None of these issues were known to science when the MOPs were designed. This is emerging science clashing with vested interests,” he said.
While Project Blue calls for a transparent, auditable, and internationally recognised sampling protocol, the City maintains that its existing methods align with global standards, including World Health Organization guidelines.
The City asserts that its festive season monitoring showed 100% of samples from popular recreational beaches were within safe thresholds.
Turton emphasised that the trust deficit between the City and environmental groups and ordinary citizens is the driving force behind Project Blue.
“The City’s aggressive posture and attempts to discredit the messenger deepen the trust deficit. This is not about whose methodology is best but about addressing public concerns over human health risks associated with sewage discharge,” he said.
As the debate continues, both parties agree on the importance of safeguarding coastal ecosystems but remain divided on the approach.
The City encourages the public to consult its Summer Dashboard for up-to-date water quality reports, while Project Blue vows to continue pushing for reliable and uncontested testing protocols.
IOL