Uvongo and Lucien beaches reopen as water quality improves
Uvongo beach was closed on December 30, 2021 after a sewage spill contaminated a stream enroute to the river leading to the lagoon and eventually to the beach.
Uvongo and Lucien beaches have reopened to the public following a decrease in the toxicity levels caused by the Escherichia coli, (E.coli) bacteria in the water.
Uvongo beach and its lagoon showed a drastic drop in E.coli readings, which prompted a decision to reopen the beach immediately.
The MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Ravi Pillay expressed his relief at the latest development.
“This is welcome news to all of us, especially the tourism sector and businesses along the coastal line of the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality. We felt their pain when beach activities were not possible because of the contamination of water. However, the need to protect public health, livelihoods and sustainability of the environment outweighed any other possibility, hence the decision to close the beaches” said MEC Pillay.
Results from water tests conducted on January 10 showed a drastic decrease in the E.coli levels, with Uvongo River upstream of the Waste Water Treatment plant and below KwaMasinenge Settlement reading at 200 down from 1 313 the previous day.
Uvongo lagoon was down to 200 from 2 909 the previous day while Uvongo beach recorded 300 down from 1076.
Uvongo beach was closed on December 30, 2021 after sewage pumps in the KwaMasinenge low cost housing projects spilled on to the environment because of vandalism and thereby caused a spill that contaminated the stream enroute to the river leading to the lagoon and eventually to the beach.
This was also exacerbated by some mechanical faults in the Ugu District Municipality Uvongo Sewer Treatment Plant and thereby releasing untreated sewage direct into the lagoon and to the beach.
Lucien Beach was closed on January 7 due to a ruptured sewage pipe that feeds into one of the pump stations along the coastline. The pipe was fixed but the beach remained closed due to high E.coli levels. The latest test results at Lucien beach also came in within the permissible levels of under 500 per 100ml.
“We must appreciate the good work that has been done by a multi departmental team that has been on site since the incidents occurred. With the same breath we must also categorically state that some of the spills are avoidable. We are concerned by an apparent lack of proper management of some of these treatment pumps. Notwithstanding the ageing infrastructure and limited budgets, Municipalities must adhere to strict maintenance plans which will help detect and prevent any problems with their sewage systems.” said MEC Pillay.
Water quality testing, repair and maintenance work of all sewer lines, pumps, and treatment plants will continue for the foreseeable future until any potential threat to the water system is eliminated.
The speaker of Ray Nkonyeni Municipality, Cllr Zodwa Mzindle expressed appreciation for the team efforts by all relevant stakeholders to ensure that this unbecoming situation is addressed. She concluded by raising concerns that things were left to reach such a state of affairs which then led to the closure of the beach which affected local tourism and economy and she emphasised that this should be avoided in future.
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