Durban Opens More Beaches But Video Shows New Sewage Spills

The City of Durban announced on Tuesday that it has reopened more beaches along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline, which have been closed since August, following “improved water quality” in the region, however experts say new testing is needed immediately as there have been sewage spills since the municipality’s last tests were done.

Durban’s famous beachfront has been suffering a high level of E.coli that’s had a devastating impact on locals and tourism. eThekwini Municipality blamed the contamination on the April floods, which they said damaged the sewage infrastructure. Residents complained however that the infrastructure had not been maintained in order to weather these storms, and some allege that objects have been deliberately placed into sewer lines.

Durban beaches now open for swimming

Beaches that are now open for swimming include: Point, uShaka, Addington, South, Wedge, North, Bay of Plenty, Battery, Country Club, Brighton, Reunion, Pipeline, Toti Main, and Warner.

eThekwini said yesterday: “The decision to open these beaches was taken after recent water tests conducted by experts confirmed that beach water is at an acceptable level for recreational activities.”

However the tests were conducted on 27 October, and the state of the water may have already changed. In fact, it definitely has at popular Battery Beach.

Battery Beach leak

Experts like Pete Graham, Founder and Director of www.singakwaziaid.org.za, say the beach opening was done “with the best of ill-advised intentions.” Pete says:

“Ecoli testing is valid until new information becomes available. In this case we found out that there was a leak on Battery and it should have been closed immediately. The city hasn’t done this. Utter madness.”

The leak at Battery beach was discovered because ActionSA has someone on the ground there. ActionSA says that the sewage spills at Battery occurred after eThekwini’s test results were taken, which will likely increase E.coli levels.

WATCH Battery Beach spill, 1 Nov 2022

Pete says: “What if there are spills at the other beaches? How many people must get sick because eThekwini officials have no clue?”

ActionSA calls for Updated E.coli Testing Before the Opening of eThekwini’s Beaches

ActionSA has called on the eThekwini Municipality to immediately conduct a new battery of tests and to make public those findings as they believe that new sewage breaks have rendered the E.coli tests conducted on 27 October 2022 outdated.

“Reliance on an outdated test, for the reopening of beaches, would put residents and holidaymakers at serious risk,” says Zwakele Mncwango, ActionSA KZN Provincial Chairperson.

ActionSA has previously threatened the Municipality with legal action for its failure to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities, as the closure of these beaches has negatively affected the tourism economy in the region, and therefore threatened jobs and livelihoods.

“Once a sewage spill occurs, sea currents take the sewage to other beaches in the region which would therefore also potentially deem them unsafe for use.

“Unsafe E.coli levels threaten the health and safety of people using the beaches and may cause severe illness for residents and tourists alike,” says Mncwango.

According to ActionSA, the municipality only tests for E.coli every two weeks, which would make the current test results outdated. Low levels of testing also mean that the municipality would be slow to realise if E.coli levels have increased.

The party is calling on the municipality to release its testing results, as well as the date the tests were completed, to ensure that beaches are safe for use.

Ever since the severe flooding in KwaZulu-Natal, eThekwini Municipality has been battling to maintain and restore sewage pump facilities in the region which has led to the closure of beaches, and lives being threatened.

“The problem has been compounded by maladministration by the ANC-led government which has been slow to respond to the issue which threatens the livelihoods of thousands in the region,” ActionSA said in a statement today.

“ActionSA has long advocated for the reopening of beaches in the region, and launched a public participation process to directly hear from communities how infrastructure failings have impended their livelihoods.

“While the party wants to see beaches reopen to protect jobs, especially in the run-up to the busy tourism season, we believe it should be done safely and in a manner that doesn’t threaten the health of people using beaches.”

Durban beaches that are still closed

The following beaches remain closed until further notice: Westbrook, Bronze, Laguna, Thekwini, Umhlanga, Umdloti and Umgababa beaches.

“The municipality is continuously monitoring water quality at all beaches to ensure the safety of residents and visitors,” says the Municipality.

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Sources: Pete Graham, ActionSA, SAnews.gov.za