No end to Umbilo River pollution
Residents and business owners are calling on people to refrain from dumping in the river as pollution continue to run rife in Umbilo River.
THE ongoing pollution issue at the Umbilo River has sparked desperate pleas from residents and business owners who are calling on people to refrain from dumping in the river.
According to concerned residents and business owners, the area, which once attracted dassies, hadedas, fish and crabs, is no longer a safe site for animals.
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For many years, the river, which flows through the industrial part of Pinetown, has changed into different colours and no one seems to take responsibility for it.
In the past, residents and business owners had taken it upon themselves to clean the river as their pleas to address this issue had fallen on deaf ears.
A Mariannhill Drive resident, Hilton Botha said for the past two years, the river has been oozing with foam and paint flows through it daily.
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The concerned Botha has appealed for action to be taken with various organisations monitoring the river so that the source of the problem could be dealt with.
“It is just shocking, there are no fish left and it looks like everything is dying. People and some companies seem to not care as they just dispose of their chemicals in the river,” said the resident.
A business owner said he has also been trying to fight the pollution problem.
Besides the stink, and the river becoming an eyesore, he said it concerns him that there are no animals left to see.
“It’s nice to see the animal species around here, but there is none. We used to have dassies, hadedas, fish and crabs but they have all been wiped out because of this pollution,” he said.
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The business owner appealed to people dumping waste in the river to consider the environment.
“This waste goes straight to the ocean, we are robbing the next generation of our beautiful environment. This widespread problem of water pollution is jeopardising our health. The river runs through an informal settlement and some people depend on this water to drink, bath and wash themselves,” he said.
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