Of blood in the river and a collapsed road – Glencoe’s sorry tale

Blood, effluent and other waste are causing a major environmental concern in Glencoe.
Blood was seen seeping out of a manhole near the entrance to Sithembile last week and flowing into a stream.
It was first thought that the blood had come from abattoirs in the area, but this was quickly rejected by the owners of both abattoirs, who said the ‘fresh blood’ generated is kept separate and taken away in built-for-purpose containers to Cato Ridge.

The hosed-down ‘waste blood’ is flushed into the sewerage system; the Health Department and Umzinyathi District Municipality (who are responsible for the sewerage system) gave the abattoirs letters of compliance that allowed for this to happen, as it ‘does not pose a health threat’.
“The problem is when there is a blockage that causes the effluent to bubble out of the manholes, resulting in blood spilling out,” said Jacques van Greyvenstein, who serves on the Ward 7 committee under the water portfolio.
Staff at both abattoirs confirmed they immediately contacted Umzinyathi once the blood spill was brought to their attention.
A spokesperson for the Glencoe Abattoir said Umzinyathi workers came to clean out the blockage.

Broken manhole covers, rocks, iron pipes and wads of waste paper were cleared from the sewer line, which allowed for a free flow.
Traces of the blood were still visible on the grass embankment of the stream near Sithembile.
Willie Steenberg of the Endumeni Residents Association and Mzwakhe Sithebe of the Endumeni Civic Association also made an in-loco inspection and expressed their shock over what they said was an environmental disaster.

“There is a chain reaction here. Blocked drains lead to blood polluting the environment, which is scary. The authorities need to really step in and carry out the necessary maintenance, and the public needs to be educated against vandalising the infrastructure, which causes these blockages,” said Sithebe.
Ward 7 Councillor Saleem Abdool told the Courier he had contacted the owners of the Glencoe Abattoir and was satisfied that everything was compliant from their side and that the blockage was on Umzinyathi’s side.
“I spoke to the rapid response unit at Umzinyathi when I was told about the blood spill and was assured that the line would be cleared.”
Fanie Terre’blanche, who lives on a plot on the old Wasbank road downstream from the spill, said the river running adjacent to his property is ‘brimming with effluent’.

“The smell is unbelievable. One can see the white foam bubbling on the surface of the stream where there was once aquatic life – now it’s a dead ecosystem.”
Fanie said that’s not his only complaint. “The massive December 2023 storm that struck Glencoe washed down huge rocks that have blocked the stream. The road surface over the stream has partially collapsed, making driving conditions treacherous.”
Despite his numerous complaints to the Department of Transport, there have been no repairs for 12 months on and still.
“No one even bothered to come out to put up warning signs, so I got my own ‘Stop’ and warning signs just to get motorists to slow down.”
The Courier has contacted the KZN Transport Department for comment on the collapsing road and a response will be published once it has been received.

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