Race is on to open uMhlanga Beach ahead of December holidays

THE eThekwini Municipality is in a race against time to salvage this year’s holiday season and re-open several beaches on the KZN north coast.

With just a little over a week to go until December 1, uMhlanga’s beaches remain closed and are almost deserted as residents and holiday-makers avoid the popular destination due to water quality concerns.

High E. coli levels have seen the popular beach destination closed for more than 200 days this year.

According to Umhlanga Tourism chairperson Duncan Heafield, businesses in the accommodation and hospitality industry could lose an estimated R25m a day if there is no solution found.

Read Also: Over R400m needed to repair Durban’s sewerage infrastructure

The eThekwini Municipality said the closures are due to damage to the sewerage infrastructure network, with the Ohlange Sewerage Pump Station (Blackburn) in particular affecting the northern beaches.

The City also revealed that at least R460m is needed to repair pump stations and sewerage infrastructure across the city.

At a press briefing last week, KZN Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said work to repair the pump station was at an advanced stage.

“Contractors are also hard at work repairing sanitation infrastructure in other parts of the eThekwini Metro. We are working as quickly as we can to ensure that as we approach the festive season, our visitors are able to enjoy themselves at all our beaches. The target is to have all beaches opened by the end of November 2022,” Dube-Ncube said.

Last week, uMhlanga ward councillor Nicole Bollman conducted a site inspection at the pump station situated near the Blackburn Village Informal Settlement to oversee the work being carried out.

Also Read: Concern as prolonged beach closures impact hospitality industry in uMhlanga

While a new transformer has been installed, Bollman believes the race to get the pump station up and running again is on the precipice.
“We are literally on the line; it could go either way. I’ve been down here a few times since the start of the repair work, and the signs are promising. This is the biggest pump station in the northern region, so it’s vital that it is sorted. I will remind residents that this is just one battle in a raging war on sewage leaks. The contractors have been working hard, but we can ill afford to take any energy away from this project,” she said.

Bollman said the City had not revealed how much the project to repair the pump station would cost.

“I do know the repair work is comprehensive and will include the upgrade of security at the site as well as the infrastructure within it. Beaches are a major tourist attraction in uMhlanga, especially over the festive season. The timeline we are working with is to have the station up and running by the end of November. Like most residents and business owners, I’m hopeful the beaches in uMhlanga will be re-opened by the start of the festive season,” she said.

For more from Northglen News, follow us on Facebook or Twitter. You can also follow us on Instagram.