The decline of Isipingo and Cuttings beaches: local voices demand change
The Isipingo and Cuttings beaches in Merebank, in the south of Durban, have been run down into a state of decay and labelled as unsafe by the communities surrounding them. The once popular spots, which were home to family beach days, especially during the summer festive season, are now unusable.
Sunil Ramadhar, spokesperson for the Isipingo Ratepayers Association, said the eThekwini Municipality did not “give a damn” about the area.
"Crime, the lack of proper working toilets and vagrants taking over make Isipingo an undesirable beach for holidaymakers as well as locals," said Ramadhar.
“Isipingo used to be one of the most beautiful spots on the south coast of Durban. I can remember when cars used to line up from the Engen garage and wait to get in. It used to be packed with families, picnic baskets and breyani pots during the holidays. Unfortunately, those days are long gone.
“The municipality does not give a damn about Isipingo. They only care about the Durban beachfront. There is no security, no working toilets, no change rooms, no nothing. Everything has been vandalised and overrun. The area surrounding Isipingo beaches has not been upgraded in well over two decades.
"I am referring to the roads leading up to the beach, the pavements, and the uncut grass. Our local government only cares about putting on a show but the actual communities that make this city are forgotten. From Dakota Beach to the River Mouth, the beaches are in a pathetic state. Isipingo needs a lot of time and effort. Unfortunately, the powers that be don't have any for us.
“We deserve the same treatment as the Durban beachfront or Amanzimtoti. We pay rates and taxes just like them and deserve the same public facilities. You must be brave to swim in any of Isipingo's beaches. It is common knowledge that our water is filthy.”
Ramadhar said the municipality’s sewage system was partly to blame for the dirty water.
“Monday was a public holiday and Isipingo beach looked like a ghost town. That will tell you everything you need to know."
Earlier, the POST visited Dakota Beach in Isipingo. The public pool and the bathroom facilities were not functional.
"Isipingo Beach was also home to many subsistence fishermen. They made a living off the once thriving waters but since the 2022 sewage disaster, many have not returned," said Ramadhar.
The Isipingo river leads directly into the ocean at the river mouth area at the Island Hotel precinct. By late July into August 2022, dead fish floated in the river and along the shore.
In early August 2022, the eThekwini Municipality announced that Isipingo beach was closed. It said an investigation into the cause would be launched.
“The discharge into the coastal waters was not intentional nor was it the fault of any official of eThekwini Municipality. The Isipingo Beach Road and Joyner Road pump stations were damaged during the April 2022 floods and operation was restored for both on 11 August 2022 and 15 August 2022 respectively and the overflow has since ceased,” said Mduduzi Ncalane, the city's communications manager.
When asked, Ncalane did not state whether Isipingo was safe for recreational use.
According to the municipality’s latest water quality results, Reunion Beach in Isipingo is closed due to high E-Coli levels. Ansteys Beach in the Bluff is also closed but the nearby Brighton Beach was considered safe for use.
Reunion Beach’s E-Coli count was five times over the acceptable amount.
E-Coli is a unit of measurement used to determine how much sewage content is present in a water source. The more sewage, the higher the E-Coli count.
Professor Faizal Bux, director for the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology at the Durban University of Technology, said the municipality needed to ensure that the wastewater treatment plants were properly maintained to avoid sewage spills.
“The regulatory authorities including the municipality need to ensure adequate maintenance of infrastructure and ensure wastewater treatment plants and pump stations perform optimally and monitor industrial effluent discharge into the south Durban precinct,” said Bux.
Cuttings Beach - Merebank
Cuttings Beach is a no-go zone after recent heavy rains pushed mounds of sewage into the ocean, locals told POST.
Daya Naidoo, the chairperson of the Merebank Residents Association, said the general maintenance and upkeep of Cuttings Beach was a cause for concern. Naidoo urged his community to not use the beach as it was unsafe.
He said locals have to wash their cars regularly because they constantly had to “drive over raw sewage” in the area surrounding the canal. The canal leads out to Cuttings Beach.
“General maintenance and upkeep is of concern and it's important that stricter monitoring and evaluation measures are re-enforced. This has deprived our community from using our recreational facilities. It has also deprived our fishermen from earning a livelihood."
Victor Kupsamy, Chairperson of the Merebank Alliance Forum, said the infrastructure at Cuttings Beach was not a concern for the municipality.
Kupsamy said the authorities knew the canal was a sewer pipe into the ocean but did nothing to stop it.
“I wish Cuttings Beach can have regular clean ups like the city does at Durban beachfront. But it seems we are not as important as others. Every time there is heavy rainfall, the canal is flooded with sewage and debris, which go into Cuttings Beach. It is disgusting to look at and even worse to smell.
“This is something that we have been fighting for years but the government just passes the buck and never addresses the problem. The municipality constantly tells us there is no money to fix infrastructure. The entire area of Merebank stinks like sewage.
"What’s worse is that the Merebank community is a low income area. Locals who do not have a car at least had the opportunity to walk to the beach to fish or swim but it is no longer safe to use. It was a little under a week ago that I drove to Cuttings Beach to have a look and it is frightening what aesthetic state the beach is in. There are no toilets, no change rooms, no security. Nothing at Cuttings Beach but sewage."
Bongani Mthembu, Air Quality and Health officer for South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), said their recent water tests showed unstable concentration of chemicals.
The SDCEA used Talbot to test the water. In June this year, they also conducted their own E-Coli tests, which showed high concentrations of the bacteria.
The October test results showed concentrations of chemicals like diesel organics, gasoline organics and oil range organics.
“The results were a bit shocking given that we tested sea water and not a freshwater source. Even though the water is salty and is constantly moving, the test still found a high amount of chemicals in the water. We were testing for run-off chemicals. In June, we conducted our own E-Coli tests and the results showed a high amount of bacteria. As the SDCEA, we can firmly say Cuttings Beach is not safe for use for both bathers and fisherfolk,” Mthembu told POST.
The municipality does not provide water quality results for Cuttings Beach.
Ncalane said: “Cuttings Beach is a non-bathing beach which is commonly used for rituals. The latest beach water quality results show that 20 Durban beaches are open for public use, while three beaches are temporarily closed as investigations to identify the source of pollution are ongoing. The public is encouraged to enjoy any of the 20 bathing beaches that are open and meet the required safety and quality standards."