The eThekwini municipality is assuring residents that 22 of its 23 beaches are safe for swimming after rigorous testing.
This after the Democratic Alliance (DA), following an oversight visit to the beaches, said there has been a steady decline in services performed by the municipality’s water and sanitation unit involving burst pipes, reservoir failures and never-ending sewage spills.
Yogis Govender, DA eThekwini executive committee member (EXCO) and PR councillor, said after their visit that included the Durban Beachfront promenade, they had not seen any improvements.
“This is despite the mayor claiming that the City is doing everything in its power to curb spiralling outages, burst water pipes, water reservoirs failing because of water pump problems and the never-ending sewer spillages.
“Something is indeed wrong in the state of eThekwini, as residents and ratepayers have reached their wits’ end with having electricity, water and sewer catastrophes almost every day.
“With the festive season around the corner, it appears that once again eThekwini Municipality will not be able to offer residents and holidaymakers safe, clean beaches, free of pollution and free of sewage.
“The latest results from an independent research company on the state of eThekwini beaches, the survey showed alarming statistics of prime eThekwini beaches being severely contaminated and polluted,” said Ms Govender.
Counter-acting the claims, mayor Mkolisi Kaunda said the only beach that was closed was Reunion Beach; while Warner and Winkelspruit beaches were closed as a result of the high tides and not water quality.
Mayor Kaunda said after an executive committee meeting on Tuesday that the re-opening of the beaches came after rigorous water quality testing.
Expanding on the water quality, Musa Gumede, deputy City manager for community and emergency services, said stringent weekly water quality tests had shown improved results and there was therefore nothing of concern.
In a bid for transparency, the City has partnered with water treatment specialists, Talbot, to verify beach water quality results. This collaboration aims to ensure accuracy in testing, especially since the recent flood disasters.
