Cape Town gearing up for the Zeekoevlei dredging work

The City of Cape Town has announced that preparations are underway for the dredging of Zeekoevlei, an operation that will take about two years and improve the quality of the waterbody.

If all goes as planned, the physical dredging of two sections of Zeekoevlei will commence in May 2025.

“Improving the water quality at Zeekoevlei is one of our top priorities, and I am pleased to announce that after many months of preparations we are now at the point where the contractor is on site, getting the necessary infrastructure in place to commence with the dredging,” said Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews. “The dredging of Zeekoevlei will also assist in removing pollutants and improving the overall health of this ecosystem.”

The intention is to dredge and remove as much of the nutrient rich sediment as possible over a period of two years.

Two sections of Zeekoevlei will be dredged: first Storm Bay and thereafter the contractor will move to the section known as Home Bay. The dredged material will be pumped with a slurry pipeline from Zeekoevlei to dewatering ponds where the sediment can dry out.

The total volume of sediment to be dredged from Home Bay is 157 000m³, estimated to take about 14 months, and from Storm Bay is 207 000m³, estimated to take about 12 months.