DA Ethekwini caucus leader, Nicole Graham has called on the city to conduct a comprehensive audit of sewerage infrastructure needs in an effort to address the repeated sewage leaks across a number of wards in the metro.
Graham’s request comes after sewage leaks were reported near King Edward Hospital, on the rail reserve area between Sydney Road and Gale Street, at the Dalton Hostel children’s creche, and at the Alan Paton Aqueduct this month.
According to the Umbilo Business Forum’s (UBF) Ian Campbell-Gillies, the leakes were the result of a breakdown at the sewerage pumping station in the area as well as the one near the sugar terminal, which caused raw sewage to flow into the areas and into the harbour.
The Riverside pump station has also been out of commission which resulted in sewage being pumped into the storm water drainage system which led straight into the Umgeni River, adversely affecting paddlers and fishermen who make use of the river and effluent eventually ending up in the ocean and on the beaches.
Speaking about the leaks in Umbilo this month, Campbell-Gillies said investigations had revealed that the pump station opposite the sugar terminal had been out of commission from 30 September, and only through the persistence of a concerned UBF member, Kelvin Caldwell, was action taken. Caldwell contacted Nicole Graham who took up the issue with authorities.
“The issue was reported to me over the weekend and I reported this to the acting deputy city manager of trading services. The issue was then referred to an official who said the sewerage pump station had flooded and they got someone out to repair it,” said Graham.
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“We are dealing with a failure of governance, where citizens are washing in sewage at the aqueduct. The UBF are fed up. Toilets are backing up and even Bulwer Park is flooding from sewage running down from St Augustine’s Hospital. Sewage is not flowing properly in Durban and there seems to be a complete failure of sewerage control in the area, we are being drowned in it!” said Campbell-Gillies.
Caldwell said the municipality needed to fix the pump stations as the City couldn’t expect to have Blue Flag beaches and a world class destination while this issue persisited. “It is easy to fix, but there seems to be a lack of funds to do so,” he said.
Graham said the City was facing a sewerage crisis with problems in just about every ward.
“I think the infrastructure is old and there needs to be a proper audit of the infrastructure and what kind of maintenance is being done. It is very serious. There are health implications and implications on human dignity. In Umbilo, the problem at the pump station was solved, but the health and environmental implications are massive. I think there needs to be a proper look into what’s going on,” she said.
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