Sewage spill closes Lucien Beach

Due to sewage contamination, Lucien Beach will remain closed for recreational purposes.

Ugu District Municipality confirmed this after Manaba resident Gilbert Coertzen raised concerns about the beach being closed to the public.

Coertzen has owned property in Manaba since 1995. He said the closure of the beach is driving away tourism.

“The beach was closed on and off during the July school holidays. Just after the holidays, a warning was put up that the water was contaminated. It has been closed for the past four weeks. As pensioners, we don’t like to swim, so we walk on the beach. Our grandkids, however, wanted to come down during the holidays, but we advised them not to due to the beach being constantly closed,” he said.

He added that last Thursday, two children were crying their eyes out because they were on holiday and couldn’t go to the beach to swim.

Coertzen said the issue is that they have not even seen one municipal worker on site trying to fix the problem.
Ray Nkonyeni Municipality spokesperson Simon April said Lucien Beach was closed on recommendation of Ugu.

“We can confirm that Ugu’s recommendation was as a result of a sewage spillage. Unfortunately, up until now, we have not received any updates regarding progress in addressing the issue of sewage spillage; however, we will continue to seek such updates as we understand the negative effects caused by the closure of the beach. We apologise for the inconvenience caused,” said April.

Meanwhile, Ugu municipal spokesperson Zimbini Mpurwana said on July 25, teams from the municipality identified a sewage leak within the treated effluent pipeline at Manaba/Lucien Beach and duly notified Ray Nkonyeni Municipality of the associated risks.

She said the assessment prompted the municipality to proceed with the closure of the beach as a precautionary measure.

“The potential for treated effluent comprising the safety and suitability of the beach for recreational activities was assessed as unacceptable, hence, the closure of the beach was recommended. The municipality has undertaken temporary repairs to the ageing pipeline, which is currently being replaced. After initial challenges, the pipeline has remained operational and secure for four consecutive days,” she said.

Mpurwana added that water samples were collected on Monday this week.

“The municipality is anticipating favourable results, given that the leak has been addressed. Once the results of the samples have been received, Ray Nkonyeni Municipality will be formally notified and will be responsible for making a subsequent decision regarding the reopening of the beach,” she said.

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