Darnall’s river of sewage

Manholes overflowing with streams of pure sewage are flowing into the Nonoti River, filling the air with a pungent smell that leaves one barely able to draw breath.

This has been a reality for the Zamani township residents for about three years, forcing them to live surrounded by human waste due to poor maintenance of infrastructure.

After receiving numerous cries for help from Zamani residents, concerned farmer and Darnall environmental committee chairman, Dave Clewlow took matters into his own hands, arranging a community meeting with Ilembe municipality on June 2 to address the matter.

“The manholes have not been maintained and the sewage flows into streams which lead to the Nonoti River. With the drought affecting KZN currently, there should not be any streams. This means that what is flowing into the river is pure sewage. People collect this water in buckets which they use for irrigation for fruit and vegetables. Children also play near the water,” said Clewlow.

He said they were frustrated by the municipality’s failure to act.

“It is not fair that the community should suffer the way that they do,” he said.

Zamani resident, Thiro Pillay said, “We have been living here for years and the manhole in our yard has been overflowing in streams below my house.

“We own a lodge but we cannot stand outside because of the smell. This has affected the profitability of my business. What concerns me most is that I have a two-year-old granddaughter who has recently been diagnosed with asthma. The risks are huge. Should my granddaughter fall into the blackened water, who will be held responsible?”

Pillay said the municipality had been aware of the problem for a long time but it is never the same person who attends to the matter.

“The municipality’s representatives are not to blame because they come in uneducated about the matter and the complaints. Each person that attends to the matter makes promises which they cannot keep.”

Dieter Lugte, another farmer who attended the meeting, said his farm was also affected by the bad quality of the water.

“Three or four years ago the river still had fish. It does not hold any life forms now. If it were up to me, I would clean the river on my own, however, the drought has cost the farmers dearly and we simply cannot afford to.”

Lugte had the water tested and is waiting for the results, in hopes of getting the municipality to finally take action.

“But there is no point in cleaning the river if the manholes remain blocked,” he said.

The constant sewage flow has also prompted the growth of alien plants. This stops good water flow.

Ilembe municipality sewer foreman, Phiwo Shange, who attended the meeting, acknowledged the problem but said they did not have the budget or manpower to tackle it. However he promised that they would fix the manholes.

Dolphin Coast Conservancy chairman and Coast Watch member, Di Jones said the Nonoti river pollution had been ongoing for years.

“The Nonoti river is small and so the water table is high. Just as you would look at a person who is covered in sores and say that they are sick, one can look at a river covered in alien vegetation and immediately see there is an issue.”

Jones said that she was tired of hearing excuses.

“The government does allocate money for municipalities to fix infrastructure. It is totally irresponsible that they are not using the money properly.”

Speaking to The Courier after the meeting, Shange said they were trying to unblock the manholes in the township.

”However we are still in the process of acquiring high power jetting machines. The machines that we had on hand were not powerful enough.”

Shange said for now the manholes will be unblocked but cleaning the river would be an expensive and labour intensive process.

“The river clean-up requires a lot of water, which we simply do not have because we are in a drought.”

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