Raw sewage in St Lucia
In order for the system to function, each pond should be full of water, allowing sewage to flow from pond to pond
LOCAL Ornithologist and conservation enthusiast, Larry Odell, has become increasingly concerned with the state of St Lucia’s sewage works and the detrimental effect it could have on bird and wildlife in the immediate area.
The Ponds, as the sewage system in St Lucia is locally known, have been in use for many years. In about 2011 a tender was allegedly awarded to a company, whose name has not been released, to carry out maintenance work on the ponds. Said work appears to have been left unfinished.
In order for the system to function, each pond should be full of water, allowing sewage to flow from pond to pond through weirs, dispersing and evaporating along the way.
After this process, nothing but clean water flows out of the final pond and seeps into the ground.
Conversely, St Lucia’s five sewage ponds are completely empty of water, each pond’s plastic lining clearly visible, and weirs between some of the ponds are non-existent. Furthermore, the stench of raw, stagnant sewage is nauseating.
Odell notified the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DoWAF) of the issue and representatives visited the site on Tuesday, 28 January. Unfortunately, said representatives were unable to be reached for comment.
A few years ago a number of bird and wildlife species surrounding the ponds died from Botulism, a fatal disease caused by excessive levels of Escherichia coli (E.coli), a bacterium commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms.
The carcass of a white faced duck found during DoWAF’s inspection on 28 January may well point to the same problem but only extensive laboratory tests will confirm or deny this.
The uMkhanyakude District office is responsible for the district’s water and sewage, however, no employee at this office appears willing to discuss the issue.
A number of uMkhanyakude employees have been contacted by Odell, all of whom have agreed to look into the matter.
It is a month since Odell’s first complaint and none of his calls have been returned, no progress has been made and no district employees have been available for comment.
In the meantime, raw sewage continues to build up in the St Lucia Ponds, gradually affecting the surrounding area.
