River of sewerage
Mount Moreland residents were outraged when raw sewerage leaked into the Mdloti River.

Mount Moreland residents were holding their noses after raw sewerage leaked into the Mdloti River downstream of Verulam.
Residents in the area noticed a foul smell and resident Danie Rademeyer said the water had turned black and that the smell of raw sewerage was unbearable.
He took photos of the river on Thursday, September 12, from a bridge on the D757 dirt road which runs through the Mount Moreland Conservancy.
Mount Moreland Conservancy’s chairperson Angie Wilken and Rademeyer made an official complaint to the Ethekwini municipality’s water and sanitation department.
Following the complaint, water quality officers began testing the river on Monday, September 16.
Rademeyer had suggested to the officials that the pollution was coming from the Verulam sewerage works a few kilometres upstream. After investigating the area, officials took water samples and found evidence of a sewerage leak.
However, the leak was not found at the Verulam sewerage works but near a pump station at Hammonds Housing development.
Chief Inspector Les Oolaganaden said a rising main burst the previous week which is suspected as the cause of the sewerage leak.
Repairs had been made to the pipe and Oolaganaden noted that the area now appeared clear of any sewerage. He suggested that heavy rainfall may have washed all the effluent into the river.
He was also sceptical that the sewerage caused of the changed colouration of the water below the works due to the complete cover of vegetation over the surface of the water.
“The water is black in colour and this could be as result of the anaerobic conditions that exist along this part of the river and most of the river downstream from this point,” said Oolaganaden.