Overview

• Michelle Sky Hayward posted an Instagram video on July 22 showing her enjoying a morning swim in foamy, murky waters at a Cape Town beach before commenters warned it contained raw sewage.
• After viewers alerted her to the contamination, Hayward shared a follow-up post admitting, “I fear I have made a terrible mistake.”
• Online users engaged in a lively discussion over whether the froth was sewage foam from overloaded drains or harmless natural seafoam.
• Cape Town’s aging coastal infrastructure can release untreated waste into the ocean during heavy rain or failures, producing frothy water that mimics seafoam.
• The incident underscores how real-time social media alerts can rapidly expose environmental hazards and mobilize public awareness.