Durban - eThekwini Municipality has given an assurance that the closed beaches in uMhlanga will reopen soon.
It said the repairs to the sewer pumps that failed, leading to the closure of the beaches, were expected to be completed yesterday.
Dr Musa Gumede, the deputy city manager for community and emergency services, said they expected to complete the repairs by yesterday and thereafter begin the process of testing the water.
On Friday, The Mercury reported on the closure of Main and Bronze beaches in uMhlanga.
The beaches were closed following failures at the Portland Drive sewer pump station. The closures had raised concerns in the tourism sector in that area as they took place on the eve of the winter school holidays.
DA councillor Nicole Bollman said one pump has been installed and the second one was being installed yesterday.
“As soon as the quality of the water has been quantified as clear, or within the range at least, they will reopen the beaches. We will be monitoring the situation,” said Bollman.
Duncan Heafield, the chairperson of the uMhlanga Tourism Association, said the closure of the beaches over the past few days had had a massive impact on businesses in the area.
He previously said that estimated losses were at R5 million a day in lost revenue for the immediate business community as a result of the closures.
Meanwhile, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environmental (DFFE) said it was working with eThekwini and other government departments to address the sewage spill issues.
The department revealed this in a parliamentary reply to a question by the DA on whether it had engaged the provincial department to address the pollution in Durban.
It said following complaints of discharge, it had taken enforcement action against the municipality with the aim of bringing it into compliance and stopping the pollution.
The DFFE revealed that since the April 2022 flooding it had been working with the municipality and the provincial leadership to overcome their challenges in this regard.
“As an example, the environmental management inspectors of DFFE have issued administrative notices against eThekwini Municipality (because) of sewage discharge at Cutting Beach, Isipingo Estuary, Glen Ashley and Mahatma Gandhi, and initiated criminal proceedings for failure to comply with enforcement notices to address the failure at the Mahatma Gandhi pump station, which has led to severe and persistent pollution within the Durban Port and has affected port activities.’’
The department was engaging with parties in the court proceedings in the Durban High Court that related to the sewage issues in eThekwini, it said.
This was being done with the objective of settling the matter through agreement on an action plan to be tabled by the eThekwini Municipality.
This action plan would detail how eThekwini intends to solve the problem.