Sewage hits the fan in Durban, as flood repair funding remains in limbo

KwaZulu-Natal has found itself in the middle of a stinking sewage crisis, with major infrastructure damaged during April floods resulting in serious pollution.

Combined with cash-strapped municipalities and a lack of insurance, disaster is beginning to manifest in the form of regular beach closures, high E.coli counts and polluted rivers.

Democratic Alliance (DA) KZN spokesperson on Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs, Heinz de Boer, told The Citizen only around 50% of KZN’s wastewater treatment works have been repaired since floods wreaked havoc in the province.

Over the past two months, De Boer, DA provincial legislature member Martin Meyer and DA National Council of Provinces member Tim Brauteseth have formed a task team to investigate the extent of pollution.

The results, De Boer said, were “disastrous”.

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Water sources ‘horrendously polluted’

“The Umgeni River, Palmiet River and Amanzimtoti, Umbilo and Tongaat Rivers are horrendously polluted. Independent testing is being conducted, with some E.coli figures as high as 1.5 million units.”

Durban, in particular, is in trouble, with infrastructure already a problem before floods exacerbated the state of facilities such as wastewater treatment works and pumping stations.

“The city is seriously cash-strapped. It’s insured for above-ground facilities… but not for pipes.”

De Boer estimates Durban needs around R600 million to fix sewage infrastructure alone.

“From what we understand, the insurance for the municipal infrastructure above ground has not yet been paid out.”

As a result, broken sewage pipes are not able to be repaired, and raw sewage from hundreds of pipes is being discharged directly into rivers, De Boer said.

Still waiting for the money

The long-term damage to the environment and tourism in the region has not yet been quantified.

The R1 billion promised by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the height of the April floods has not yet manifested either.

“We have information that money is available, but that it will be given as a loan, and that the money will come off next year’s budget.”

It is not yet known when money will be made available for pipes to be repaired.

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In May, cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC Sipho Hlomuka said the province had not yet received any of the R1 billion pledged by national government.

Government stipulations require applications to be made to the National Disaster Management Centre and the Department of Human Settlements, after which verification can be made for National Treasury to release the funds.

De Boer said some municipalities have applied for funding, but have not been able to repair any infrastructure due to a lack of funds.