Several beaches in Durban either remain closed or have been declared unsafe due to poor water quality and ongoing pollution. Photo: iStock
After conducting water testing along the Durban cost, several public beaches have been closed due to poor water quality.
Residents have been advised to stay away from a number of beaches as a result, Berea Mail reports.
“The City would like to advise the public that following the latest round of testing, it has taken a decision to close some beaches with immediate effect due to poor water quality,” said eThekwini municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela.
For health reasons, Mayisela emphasised that all water activities at the affected beaches were banned until further notice.
ALSO READ: eThekwini Municipality opens 13 beaches, others remain closed
The following beaches are closed:
Due to previous health risk closures, uMhlanga Main, uMdloti, Westbrooke and Bronze beaches in the northern region remain closed.
Beaches that are currently open include Toti, Pipeline, Warner, Winklespruit and Umgababa.
Mayisela said the municipality was continuing to conduct water quality tests at beaches across the region.
On Thursday, mystery surrounded the discharge of black liquid flowing into Umhlanga Beach.
Ward 36 councillor Nicole Bollman told The Witness she was aware of the discharge, but was not sure what it was.
Bollman said a water firm had taken samples to determine whether the liquid was harmful.
Pollution runs rife in KwaZulu-Natal, an issue exacerbated by the April floods, which severely damaged sewage infrastructure.
Democratic Alliance (DA) KZN spokesperson on Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs, Heinz de Boer, told The Citizen only around 50% of KZN’s wastewater treatment works have been repaired since floods wreaked havoc in the province.
Over the past two months, De Boer, DA provincial legislature member Martin Meyer and DA National Council of Provinces member Tim Brauteseth have formed a task team to investigate the extent of pollution.
The results, De Boer said, were “disastrous”.
“The Umgeni River, Palmiet River and Amanzimtoti, Umbilo and Tongaat Rivers are horrendously polluted. Independent testing is being conducted, with some E.coli figures as high as 1.5 million units.”
The long-term damage to the environment and tourism in the region has not yet been quantified.
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Compiled by Nica Richards.
Parts of this article firsts appeared on Caxton publication Berea Mail. Read the original article here.