Janet Simpkins, the director of Adopt-a-River, a non-profit organisation, said she remains concerned over the discolouration and murky discharge in the Umgeni River.

On Wednesday, the eThekwini Municipality closed seven Durban beaches after the ‘Umgeni River discharged abnormal murky waters to the beach’.

A day later, that decision was reversed as test results conducted by the City showed the water was free from pollution.

However, Simpkins believes the current discolouration of the river is due to pollutants that pose a threat to wildlife, tourism, fisherfolk, paddlers and staff who clean the banks of the river.

“We’ve always been concerned about the health of the Umgeni River. This discolouration and discharge we’ve seen is unprecedented. We’ve had reports about this murky, black substance flowing into the Umgeni River since the end of December.

“We’ve collected water samples, which have been sent to the eThekwini Municipality. While the river has had extremely high e-coli levels in the river, we fear this pollutant may pose a risk to wildlife, fisherfolk and paddlers,” Simpkins said.

On Thursday, the eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, said that according to the results, the water is free of any pollution that may pose threat to life.

“The water was murky because of hyacinths naturally found in water. It usually increases during summer months. The City would like to thank the public for always heeding its warnings,” he said.