Durban — Nature drew a line off the coast of the Durban beachfront, separating clean seawater from what appears to be dark, murky water.
It appeared that nature drew a line between the clean seawater, which can be seen in the distance, and the dirty water that is closer to the shore.
For days, this has sparked interest, and Durbanites have commented about the state of the water, some even drawing their own conclusions about the cause.
In one of the most recent Facebook posts about the seawater, on Monday, Pavan Balraj said: “Shocked after I saw the water at our Durban Beachfront today.”
His post was accompanied by three photos taken at the beachfront.
People commented on his post more than 180 times.
Here is what people said about the post:
Gininda Simphiwe said she did not see how the ANC could have stopped the current heavy rains.
“Sometimes, we need to use our common sense and move away from blame games. The government has to focus on stopping load shedding, not stopping rain.”
Nischal Roopnarain questioned what was shocking. The water had been in that state for a while.
Thami Duma said: “Omg, this is the most stupid post this year so far. The sea is like this all the way to Thukela. Even pre-1994, this happened when there were heavy rains. Why not rather compliment how clean the beachfront is? I can believe adults that have lived near them for decades can be so shallow (excuse the pun).”
Charlene Shanny Stuart said: “Mother nature, perhaps.”
Yugen Thaver said: “It’s actually amusing to read some comments. We should rather do some introspection first before playing the blame game. Over and above the broken-down sewage infrastructure, take a good hard look and the filth that our people are dumping in stormwater and storm canals in our immediate surroundings. Where exactly do we expect our junk to end up... Yes, the ‘municipality’ needs to clean up, but we as well need to take care of our immediate surroundings and neighbourhood by not dumping and not tolerating others dumping.”
Nandi Mhlongo said: “But this happens ALL THE TIME after heavy rain.”
In a separate post on Tuesday and reacting to comments on Durban’s seawater, Pete’s Post shared a video and said he needed to share it in an effort to bring peace to the panic/anger regarding the colour of Durban's seawater being shared on some social media platforms.
“It is NOT due to sewage discharge but rather the 10’s of millions of litres of rainwater making its way out to sea. It is a completely normal occurrence after any heavy rainfall in the catchment areas,” Pete’s Post read.
Over the weekend, he had taken a video of the Umzimkulu River, which empties into the ocean at Port Shepstone. But the story is the same for all the other Berg rivers, he said.
He said the video was right in the Berg, so once more tributaries feed it, there will be a significant increase in volume.
“Swimming in dirty water is a very bad idea for many reasons... So don't swim if your local beach looks like some of the pictures I’ve been sent,” Pete’s Post read.
Daily News