A PROPOSAL to extend uShaka Pier to include an addition 70 well points to pump water to uShaka Marine World has been met with criticism.
Currently, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is being undertaken for the proposed extension.
According to eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela, the extension to the pier is primarily to improve the water quantity and quality that is being extracted beneath the pier and supplied to uShaka Marine World.
“Depending on a successful environmental approval for this project from the National Department of Oceans and Coasts and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, the project could be completed by mid-2020,” he said.
A notice about the EIA was placed in the municipality’s publication, Ezasegagasini Metro, and noted plans to add 70 well points which would pump water to uShaka Marine World.
The notice gave the community 21 days to submit comments regarding the proposal.
Speaking to Berea Mail, Vetch’s Beach activist, Johnny Vassilaros, said he felt the entire project sounded suspicious.
ALSO READ: The slow death of Durban’s Vetch’s Pier
“Firstly, the municipality did not advertise the project in the newspapers, choosing to hide it in the Metro publication. No public meeting was to take place, which is highly contentious and they gave the public 21 days to comment, but the Basic Information Document is not available. The proposed extension is to add 70 more well points for uShaka but this is totally misleading. It may work on the uninformed but not to people who know the full story,” he said.
Vassilaros explained that when the pier was built, sufficient well points were placed to provide the aquarium with enough water.
However, according to Vassilaros, the well points were clogged due to the over-pumping of sand onto the beachfront.
“This is the result of the over-supply of sand on Vetch’s and the Addington area due to the incompetence of the City and their inability to distribute the sand evenly over the entire beachfront. Last year R19.4 million of ratepayers’ money was spent getting the dredger to pump directly onto the central and northern beaches as a temporary solution. They could have so easily used that money to equip the booster pump stations with the right pumps, getting their infrastructure running to solve the problem permanently. And now they wish to waste more of our money to extend the pier so they can continue using that beach as a dump site,” he said.
Malcolm Keeping, a fellow activist agreed: “This is a complete waste of ratepayers money. What will the effects of the pier extension be on tidal/current movement in that area, will more sand be deposited on the northern side of Vetch’s’ reef, causing even more deterioration in the reef’s ecology? The pier and associated restaurant are already an eye-sore – an extended pier will be even more unsightly and will look ridiculous with a restaurant perched halfway along its length,” he said.
“We need a scientific study on the effects of sand dumping on Vetch’s marine fauna before any such development is considered.”
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Vassilaros said he would be objecting to the extension as he felt it was yet another waste of ratepayers’ money.
“All the municipality needs to do is slow down on the pumping of sand and allow the water to advance to the level it was in the past,” he said.
He said having smothered Vetch’s reef, the municipality has been pumping sand onto Addington Beach which has adversely affected another eco-system on the wreck of the Ovington Court.
This ship was wrecked in 1941 and is a marine haven with its own eco-system.
It can be found approximately 150 metres offshore, but due to the ontinued sand pumping, it now lies in the surf zone and all the marine life on it is being smothered to death by sand.
Vassilaros said a series of Google Earth images clearly show what has happened to Vetch’s over the past ten years or so.
“The pictures more than amplify the point that Moyo is high and dry on most low and high tides. The infilling of the Vetch’s basin is also abundantly obvious. Around 110m of reef is currently buried under sand relative to the position in the period pre 2013. This portion of reef remained more or less intact and viable until 27 July 2013, and it’s never been the same since,” he said.
Any interested and affected parties who wish to comment on the EIA can register with the Consultants: ECA Consulting (Nicole Naiker) on admin@ecaconsulting.co.za.
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