The City says it is working to alleviate water table challenges after heavy rainfall affected cemeteries throughout Cape Town in recent weeks.
Maitland Cemetery has been most affected by the recent adverse weather conditions and last weekend the cemetery was inaccessible due to higher- than-normal water tables, which resulted in 56 funerals taking place at the Welmoed Cemetery.
Operational staff at Maitland were forced to decline some requests for the reopening of private graves for a second interment, as some sections of the cemetery reached water at a depth of less than one metre below the surface, the City said.
Gate 4A area in particular exhibits a very high water table.
“The Department regularly informs undertakers of the situation when they make their bookings regarding any challenges. They are fully aware that there are space constraints in Maitland Cemetery as a result of the winter water table. Their clients are encouraged to visit the cemetery to observe the reopening test hole to witness the extent of the problem and provide them the time to consider alternative cemeteries if not to their satisfaction,” said Mayco member for community services and health Patricia van der Ross.
According to the City, water table levels typically peak around the end of September as a result of soil saturation, which results in water lying on the surface due to the inability to drain away as a result of impermeable soils. There is no way to drain the soil rapidly so that a burial can be conducted, because the water returns to the grave as rapidly as it is pumped out.
For the next two months at Maitland and other affected cemeteries, the City said it will examine the cemetery for possible new grave sites in dry pockets, make space available at the edges and ends of burial blocks in older sections of the cemetery and reduce the width of some narrow gravel roads to increase burial space.
The City said it would also promote the use of mausoleum crypts, encourage the practice of cremation and promote second burials in family graves where the water table has not affected their reuse, while demolished buildings will also facilitate the removal of foundations and the expansion of burial spaces.
There are a number of cemeteries that have space for private graves.
These include Klip Road (Grassy Park), Plumstead, Welmoed, Wallacedene, Rusthoff and Atlantis.
Cape Times