Durban — ActionSA in eThekwini has expressed its concern and outrage, accusing the eThekwini Municipality of not caring about the health of beachgoers, after a high E. coli level was recorded at one of the city’s beaches.
ActionSA eThekwini caucus leader Alan Beesley said that the latest readings from Talbot, an independent laboratory, taken on November 3, show that Country Club beach had an E. coli level of 1 267 CFU/100ml. He said that with the critical E. coli level being 500 CFU/100ml, this beach should have been closed to beachgoers, yet it remains open.
Beesley said there is no doubt sewerage discharges have led to the high E coli levels in the ocean, and the tide movement from the south to the north means that beaches further south of the Country Club do not currently have critical E. coli levels.
“It is also important to note that ... the uMngeni River, Umdloti, Palmiet, and Msunduzi rivers are discharging sewerage into the sea and until the sewage situation is fixed, swimming and water activities at any of eThekwini’s beaches should be considered hazardous,” Beesley said.
He said that on October 19, ActionSA issued the municipality with a letter of demand petitioning that the matter be urgently addressed.
“As the festive season nears, it is unfortunate that businesses that operate within the city will be severely affected by our beaches remaining closed during the festive season.”
Beesley said that ActionSA would continue to monitor the situation and called on the municipality to prioritise beachgoers and, by extension, eThekwini tourists.
On Sunday, ActionSA KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Zwakele Mncwango said its legal team is preparing legal action against the municipality for failing to urgently arrest the flow of effluent and waste into the river systems in the city and the ocean. This has resulted in the closure of beaches, health concerns for residents and long-term damage to sensitive ecosystems.
Daily News