Amanzimtoti sewage spill leads to major fishkill

Following an electrical problem at the Elcock Road pumpstation last week, raw sewage discharged into the Winklespruit River, causing a massive fishkill.

“Delayed reaction by officials resulted in excessive contamination that included a large number of fish suffocations as the river mouth was closed,” reported ward 97 councillor, Andre Beetge.

“Learning that the one and only generator available to the South to aerate the estuary was also broken, we commandeered a TLB on loan from cemeteries on Saturday morning (1 August) and, with assistance from Jace Govender, Mark Barber and Anesh Jugdeo, a channel was opened to the sea that allowed for the contaminant to flush and seawater to enter.

“We further requested assistance from the fire department and after obtaining permission from the water department, tapped into fire hydrants to introduce fresh water into the estuary.

Beetge said an official from the provincial department of economic development and tourism who visited the site promised to forward a comprehensive report on the matter to the MEC, as matters could have been totally different had officials acted timely on their initial requests, instead of only on Thursday after being escalated to a higher authority and pleas for immediate action.