90% of beaches ‘excellent’, says City
Durban — The eThekwini Municipality has announced that three swimming beaches closer to the Umgeni River did not meet water quality standards but assured the public that water quality at the remaining 20 were within acceptable standards.
The municipality said it would release the latest beach quality results on Thursday (today), as it grapples with the root cause of sewer spillages into rivers across Durban.
The sampling was done on Tuesday.
The municipality is also trying to teach the public that throwing “foreign objects” down the sink or toilet blocks sewer pumps at wastewater treatment plants, spillages that affect the beaches, eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said.
The municipality said during the last sampling run, the results of 20 beaches from Suncoast Beach to uShaka and Vetches Beach were all at acceptable standards.
The only swimming beaches that did not comply were the three closest to the Umgeni River mouth namely: Blue Lagoon, eThekwini Beach and Country Club.
Sisilana said the City had 23 beaches and for most of the year, 90% of them were in excellent condition.
The Talbot water sampling E.coli results for samples taken on February 15 caused a stir on social media. The results showed that Battery and Country Club beach showed “critical” amounts of E.coli in the water.
Responding to these results, Sisilana said the high E.coli count was caused by pollution in the Umngeni River due to blocked sewer lines, which had since been unblocked and cleared, as well as partially treated effluent overflows.
Sisilana said repairs at the Johanna Road pump station were completed in December.
She said that contractors were on site at the Northern Wastewater Treatment Works doing refurbishments to the plant.
This, she said, would significantly improve the effectiveness of the plant.
“Due to foreign materials being disposed of by residents into the sewer lines, blockages will occur from time to time and the actions of residents do have an impact on beach water quality.
“We continue to urge residents to change their attitude and stop introducing foreign objects into our sewer systems as they are only designed to handle water, human waste and tissue.”
Sisilana said rags and foreign objects were often found when municipal officials were unblocking sewer lines.
Roshan Lil-Ruthan, the spokesperson for the Verulam Water Crisis Committee, said the business community and residents were growing increasingly concerned and frustrated by the ongoing sewage crisis on Wick Street in Verulam’s central business district (CBD).
“The stench from the sewage in the CBD has reached unbearable levels, causing physical discomfort and creating unhygienic conditions for locals, workers, and visitors alike. This unfortunate situation is particularly distressing. Repairs on Wick Street and Court Lane have been alarmingly slow, with minimal signs of progress being made,” Lil-Ruthan said.
Pete Graham, founder of Singakwazi Aid, a water purification and community upliftment specialist, said the theft of electricity had left the Johanna Road pump station vulnerable.
“There was a constant overflow from the tributary into the Umgeni River. The informal settlement now has electricity which has helped the situation. We also have the added problem of load shedding.
“The City needs to invest more money in this critical infrastructure to avoid pollution.
“Pump stations need electricity so at many stations there is double trouble and at some stations, access due to road damage is limited.
“This is impacting on the beaches,” Graham said.
eThekwini councillors Zoe Solomon of Bluff ward 66 and Alicia Kissoon of Reservoir Hills ward 23, said they were shocked when officials showed them the cause of blockages in their respective areas.
“Fat deposits in open manholes. Due mostly to discharging of food fat and insoluble fats from cleaning cooking utensils down the sinks.
“Other stuff like wet wipes, pieces of cloth, sanitary towels and disposable nappies. The head of a bovine was also found in a drain in Clare Estate,” they said.
Alan Beesley, ActionSA eThekwini caucus member, said the last independent beach water sampling results highlight how compromised eThekwini’s beaches have become due to the ongoing sewage crisis.
“Despite the mayor saying otherwise it is clear that the sewage situation is not getting better.
“It is unacceptable that the ANC-led municipality continues to put the health of beach-goers at risk,” Beesley said.
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