The Democratic Alliance in eThekwini Municipality is calling for an urgent investigation into the water quality levels of the rivers and beaches within eThekwini’s jurisdiction. This comes after a series of dubious closures and reopening of the beaches during December 2021 and January 2022 and reports of visibly polluted waterways and beaches.
In a recent report by water consultancy Talbot, E. coli levels taken on 5 February 2022 reflect shocking levels of ecoli in the following areas:
Kingfisher Canoe Club (Blue Lagoon) = 68670 count/100ml
Johanna Road pump station = 16160/100ml
Northern Wastewater Treatment Works = 920800/100ml
Mount Moreland Bridge = 4611/100ml
The acceptable range for an ecoli count ought to be in the region of 200-400/100ml. These levels exceed critical concentrations by the thousands.
Earlier this year, DA councillors raised the red flag on the same issue after multiple reports from the community in Umhlanga and Umdloti. The eThekwini Communications Department however refuted claims of any toxicity and declared the rivers and beaches “free of any pollution that may pose threat to life”. They further attributed the look of the water to rotting water hyacinth plants washed up by heavy rains.
The reality is that sewer pump stations across the city are routinely and repeatedly failing. The pollution of the Umbilo river is of particular concern and continues without any remedial action to prevent sewer spills. Sewage and other pollutants overflow into the Umgeni River on a weekly basis from two of the city’s municipal wastewater treatment facilities and nearby industrial facilities.
In a report presented to the municipality’s Executive Committee last year, eThekwini Water and Sanitation requires in excess of R40 billion rand for the replacement costs for the sewer pipe network and sanitation facilities. The stark reality is that the allocated budget is only around R300 million per annum for water and sanitation and nowhere near the R1.2bn per annum required for the long term plan. At the rate that eThekwini is budgeting for replacement and preventative maintenance in this unit, it will take close on to 100 years to fix EThekwini’s water and sanitation woes. There has been no radical adjustment of the budget or emergency processes to halt the decay and breakdown of critical infrastructure.
This state of affairs is in serious contrast to the city’s motto of being the most caring and liveable city in Africa by 2030. The Democratic Alliance maintains that only a change in government can save eThekwini from its current downward spiral, as we will not accept constant sewage spills, unhealthy water levels, threats to marine life and humans as the norm.