Cape Town - Bathers and the public will not be able to use Fish Hoek Beach until further notice after the City of Cape Town announced a precautionary closure on Sunday.
In a statement, the City said that the main bathing area at Fish Hoek Beach is temporarily closed to the public from today until further notice.
This comes after Muizenberg Beach was officially re-opened to the public earlier today after precautionary closure earlier this week.
“The temporary closure is due to a sewer overflow in the area – the cause of which has yet to be identified. Various City departments have been activated to respond to this incident. As a precaution, Fish Hoek Beach has been closed until further notice.
“City Health will be taking water samples on a daily basis for water quality testing until such time as the levels are within the minimum requirement for recreational activities as determined by the National Water Quality Guidelines. In the meantime, the public is advised to avoid contact with the water until further notice. This is a precaution as contact with the water could result in potential gastro-intestinal issues and therefore any person who enters the water does so at their own risk,” the City said.
Health Warning signage has been erected, advising the public of the situation.
On Monday Muizenberg was closed as a precautionary measure following an electrical failure at a nearby sewer pump station, impacting on the mouth of the Zandvlei.
“The City continuously monitored the water quality since the closure, and can confirm that the latest water samples are within the minimum requirement for recreational activities as determined by the National Water Quality Guidelines.
“As such, the section of beach has been reopened and the signage removed.
“The issue at the pump station was resolved on the same day (on Monday), and it has been operating normally since then. However, City Health advised at the time that the beach be closed in the vicinity of the Zandvlei mouth as a precautionary measure until such time as the samples are within the required levels,” the City said.
Cape Times