eThekwini Municipality closes all Durban beaches

The eThekwini Municipality has closed all it’s beaches in and around Durban until further notice.

This was effective immediately on Wednesday, 18 October.

ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY CLOSES ALL ITS BEACHES

In a brief statement, the municipality said the Natal Sharks Board advised the decision due to murky water, which is full of logs and other unsafe objects due to the recent heavy rains.

“As a result, the shark nets at most beaches were broken, making beaches unsafe for the public to use,” the metro said.

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Furthermore, all water activities are prohibited. However, residents can still enjoy other activities along the beach that do not require them to come into contact with seawater.

“Beachgoers are urged to heed this warning. Teams are hard at work fixing the nets and infrastructure damaged by the heavy rains,” the eThekwini Municipality said.

CONCERNS OVER WATER QUALITY AHEAD OF SUMMER HOLIDAYS

In September this year, the eThekwini Municipality asserted that Durban’s beaches are suitable for visitors.

The municipality’s “beach water quality results” for beaches in the central, northern, and southern zones, which were made available on their website roughly when Talbot conducted its tests, affirm their confidence in safety.

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Gugu Sisilana, the municipality’s spokesperson, stated that Talbot was invited to conduct joint testing to ensure comparable results, but they declined this option.

Other recent beach closures were initiated based on advice from the Sharks Board, as spring tides had damaged shark nets.

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