ETHEKWINI Municipality has acknowledged the Pietermaritzburg High Court judgment regarding sewage pollution on its beaches on December 18, and has engaged its legal advisers to study the ruling in detail.

Also read: Sewage issues plague Winklespruit

This follows the high court ruling in an application made by the DA against eThekwini regarding sewage pollution and E.coli infestation at some beaches on the South Coast and other areas that are caused by broken sewerage infrastructure. Most of the damage stems from the April 2022 floods.

DA MP Dean Macpherson said eThekwini has failed to adequately deal with the sewage crisis.

“The court has declared their actions unconstitutional and unlawful. They have been directed to publish weekly data on E.coli and, within two months, [come up with] an action plan to fix the mess they created,” said Macpherson.

eThekwini spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said when passing the judgment, the court acknowledged that while the City had financial constraints, it had taken steps such as reprioritising the budget in order to accommodate the flood disaster.

“The court also acknowledged our action plan, and that it was revised twice after engagements with the Department of Water and Sanitation as well as the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs. Due to that, the court refused to make an order directing the City to act under the court’s supervision,” said Sisilana.

Besides the weekly publishing of E. coli test results for all public beaches, eThekwini was ordered to implement an action plan to repair and maintain sewer infrastructure and report back to the court on progress made. Communities living and working near rivers and beaches also need to be informed about water-related hazards and pollution.

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