As a precautionary measure, Ugu District Municipality has issued a warning to bathers to confine all contact water sport activities, including swimming and fishing, to the sea water.

The use of lagoons and rivers is prohibited during this period as it has been discovered that they currently traverse many properties which flow downstream, resulting in impurities entering the river streams which contribute to non-compliance of the water for recreational purposes.

Ugu spokesman France Zama said that based on tests conducted, this has resulted in fluctuating E.coli counts and therefore all lagoons and rivers are considered to be unsafe as Ugu is unable to guarantee the safety of the water for recreational purposes.

During the festive season, swimming areas of beaches and lagoons are strictly sampled regularly by the Environmental Health Department to monitor the quality of marine waters in accordance with the South African Water Quality Guidelines for Coastal Marine Waters, using microbiological indicators, which is the E.coli count.

This count is used to identify the risk to public health from possible disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and protozoa in the coastal waters.

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