The City of Cape Town has launched an online service that enables users to check coastal water quality results before visiting a beach or tidal pool.
Cape Town Beach Alerts covers monitored sites along the Atlantic and False Bay coastlines. Users can search for a location and view its latest water quality result, results from recent samples and a longer-term classification. The colour-coded display shows whether results meet national recreational guidelines.
The site also carries environmental and pollution alerts, weather forecasts, lifeguard schedules and seasonal Blue Flag status where applicable. It is available through the City of Cape Town app where registered users can opt to receive push notifications about coastal alerts.
“Cape Town Beach Alerts makes complicated data about coastal water quality accessible to the public,” said Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment Eddie Andrews. This is the first phase of the service with more beach information planned, he added.
According to the city, its sampling team collects seawater from more than 100 locations along over 300km of coastline each week. The samples are analysed independently by a SANAS-accredited laboratory.
