Pong pond gets attention

THE uThungulu District Municipality has pledged action to stem the stench emanating from the Mtunzini sewage plant.
This after countless complaints from residents over an escalating problem during the past months
uThungulu Municipal Manager Mandla Nkosi said, ‘A feasibility study was done to establish both long- and short-term solutions to the challenges at the sewage plant, so that we could curb the contamination as an interim measure, while implementing a long-term plan to address the underlying problems.’
A short-term rehabilitation plan was also presented by municipal consultants last week, after an investigation into the cause of the overflow of untreated sewage. 
Nkosi confirmed that the plant’s current intake is higher than its capacity, and the immediate plan is to increase the plant’s capacity.
‘A meeting has been scheduled with environmental groups in Mtunzini on 4 June, to present to stakeholders uThungulu’s two-phased approach to the problem.
‘The rehabilitation measure is anticipated to last about two years, which will give the district the opportunity to plan the long-term solution, which will ultimately involve building a bigger plant,’ said Nkosi.
According to the Mtunzini Conservancy, the plant is designed to handle loads of 180kl per day, but it receives as much 280kl and at peak times up to 320kl per day.
This extra load is too much for the plant to handle and reports of contaminated water leaking into the forest and the uMlalazi Nature Reserve were received from a number of concerned residents.
‘Some days one can even smell the odour at the lagoon,’ a concerned Peter Schonert wrote in a letter to the Zululand Observer.