Durban - The eThekwini Municipality says it’s confident that by next month all repairs on damaged sewerage infrastructure will be completed and all Durban beaches will be open for swimming and other water-related activities.
This after an alarm was raised this past week after videos shared on social media showed raw sewage from the Blackburn Pump station, in uMhlanga running into the nearby Ohlanga River. Raw sewage was also seen flowing into the uMngeni River which flows to the Blue Lagoon.
EThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said estuary water near lagoons had shown significant improvement, but some beaches remain closed as a precautionary measure as advised by environmental affairs.
Opposition parties have said eThekwini’s sewerage issues were much greater than what met the eye and the November deadline was impossible to meet without adequate funding.
Heinz de Boer, DA KZN spokesperson on economic development, tourism and environmental affairs, labelled the municipality’s November promise as unrealistic . Only a miracle in terms of the budget could make it possible, he said. “I don’t think it’s a realistic date for any of the infrastructural repairs to be completed. These are not isolated issues but a complete sewer network that is damaged. The city doesn’t have the several hundred million rand required to deal with it.”
This was not just a Durban crisis; the whole country was facing issues in relation to sewer spills, he said. “I have received sewer spillage complaints from the South Coast too, this weekend sewer pump stations broke down leading to more pollution. The country is in a serious situation when it comes to sewer pollution.”
Mdu Nkosi, IFP eThekwini exco councillor, said the extent of the damage caused by the floods was still being felt and significant funding was needed to deal with the issues. “As we speak we have people who are out of water which shows that the flood damage was vast and still unfolding.”
ActionSA believed residents and business were being misled as to how dire the situation actually was. ActionSA eThekwini caucus leader, Alan Beesley, said urgent action was needed not only to repair the sewerage system but to prevent its entire collapse. “The intolerably high levels of raw sewage pose a health risk to residents living nearby, including young children and the elderly. The pollution also poses a great risk to the environment and wildlife. Many environmental and
health risks are being blatantly violated due to the inaction by the city.”
Beesley said all the municipality was doing was to tell people what they needed to hear instead of the truth, adding there was no money to do the repairs. “There is too much talk and no action. The municipality is putting people’s lives at risk and more health issues will arise.”