Westbrook sewage pumps repaired

Westbrook can breathe a little easier after the community’s long non-functioning pump station was again repaired last month.

Years of theft, vandalism and damage to the pumps as a result of the floods saw raw sewage overflow at the pumphouse before pooling in the open.

Some repairs have been made in the four years since the Courier visited in 2019, but it was often broken again within weeks, casting a horrific smell over the seaside community.

Separate spills were confirmed in 2019, 2021, 2022 and earlier this year.

Residents have also raised repeated concerns about the health and hygiene impact as the sewage flowed directly into the ocean at the nearby Westbrook Main Beach.

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Once a Blue Flag destination, the beach is now closed for bathing more often than it is open, and it remained closed for E.coli concerns when the Courier visited on Saturday.

According to the eThekwini municipality’s most recent published tests on July 17, Westbrook was the third worst of the 23 beaches tested.

A count of 594 put the water firmly in the ‘poor’ status, which is the worst possible in the municipality’s metric, which put ‘excellent’ at less than 130, ‘acceptable’ between 130 and 500 and poor for everything over.

Given the repair last month, it is unclear from where the contamination now stems at Westbrook.

The eThekwini municipality did not respond to a request for comment.

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Nevertheless, when the pump station was visited on Saturday, everything appeared to be working as intended and no sewage had leaked into the open.

Previously, to reach the pumphouse, one had to jump across a few bricks to avoid ankle deep sewage, but the area is now clean.

Two full-time guards remain on site and will hopefully be able to prevent further theft of the pumps.

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