Sewage spill leads to closure of Blue Flag beach in Ballito

Thompson’s Bay beach in Ballito has had its Blue Flag status removed following a sewage spill, which forced authorities to close the beach.

The KZN North Coast municipality, KwaDukuza, decided to remove the recently bestowed Blue Flag status, following a breakdown of a sewer line, which led to a sewage spill onto Thompson’s Bay beach.

Blue Flag Beach status, certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education, is one of the world’s most recognised voluntary awards for beaches and marinas, and requires that a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria are met and maintained.

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Thompson’s Bay beach received the Blue Flag status in November for excellence in safety, amenities, cleanliness and meeting environmental standards.

KwaDukuza Municipality weighs in on the sewage spill
The municipality said the beach will be closed as the breakdown of the sewer line along Simbithi overflowed onto Ballito Drive and onto Thompson’s Bay Beach.

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Due to this unfortunate incident, the municipality has taken a conscious decision to close Thompson’s Bay Beach and this has a direct impact on the municipality’s efforts to deliver sustainable beaches.
“The municipality will also remove the recently bestowed Blue Flag at this beach until the responsible authority, that is Siza Water, completes the necessary repairs and the municipality’s environmental team gives a green light in terms of water quality and associated E. coli levels,” said municipal spokesperson Sipho Mkhize.

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The municipality didn’t elaborate on what caused the breakdown. It said, however, that it was engaging Siza Water and the iLembe District Municipality to ensure that such occurrences are curbed and that the KwaDukuza Municipality does not find itself closing beaches during this critical time when holidaymakers and tourists look to KwaDukuza to offer such amenities.

Municipality announces open beaches
The KwaDukuza Municipality wished to inform its residents, business and tourists that Willard Beach has been cleared as being in order for public use.

“The municipality can confirm that, with the exception of Thompson’s Bay beach, all its beaches remain fully open for use, including swimming.

Thompsons Bay beach is still above the limit of 250 of the E. coli bacteria and, as such, it will remain closed until further notice. The municipality will communicate [on Tuesday] on the outcomes of the tests done [on Monday]
The municipality apologised for the inconvenience caused.