VIDEO: Salty water update: River berm up and running
The construction on the berm system started last Saturday and was completed yesterday, ahead of schedule.
AN AMOUNT of R6 million has been used to clear salt water and open the mouth of the Umzimkhulu river.
According to Ugu, R3.7 million of that was allocated to the construction of a temporary berm system that crosses river.
Ugu District Municipality officially opened the berm on Thursday this week as a desalination method to prevent sea water from entering the river. This step comes as a solution to the salt water problems that have plagued the South Coast recently.
During the official handover of the berm, Kevin Stott, director of KuluCrete South Coast which was involved in the building of the temporary berm system, said that the salt content of the river was currently at 41 whilst the salt level on the sea side was at 900.
Ugu District Municipality Mayor, Ntombifikile Gumede has described this project as ‘a great provision for both the municipality and communities’.
‘We had to find means to deal with this problem as the river could not fight back because of the low pressure. Now a solution has been put in place to help us all,’ she said.
The construction on the berm system started last Saturday and was completed yesterday, ahead of schedule.
“We are hoping this is going to work well and we thank communities of the south coast for bearing with us during the hard times,” said Cllr Gumede.
KuluCrete will be monitoring the berm system for a period of three months, whereafter Ugu will be responsible for its maintenance.
