Waste spills onto uMhlanga beach

THE sand on Eastmoor Crescent beach smelled like a sewer system on Saturday morning after raw sewage spilled out on to the sand. The stretch of uMhlanga’s beach has been an issue for local resident, Nick Opperman, for the past six years. Last week, after yet another sewage spill – three in all – the eThekwini Municipality showed up to cover the spill using beach sand. The reason for the discharge is being blamed on a defective pump station.

This comes a week after a massive sewage spill which flowed into a plush, multi-million rand Glenashley property. The spill was also attributed to a malfunction at a nearby pump station.

Opperman has a stormwater drain which runs under his home and flushes excess water out into the sea. However, in recent years, particularly in heavy downpours, raw sewage floods into the stormwater pipe, which is damaged. The discharge then collects into a pool outside his home. This was again the case on Saturday.

“How can it take six years for the municipality to fix this? The last time the municipality told me the one functioning pump tripped, and that’s what had caused the sewage overflow. But this is just ridiculous,” said the irate resident. “The municipality says it is cash-strapped, but if you collected a month’s worth of rates from the residents on the road they would be able to fix the pump.”

Opperman said the smell was awful, and was especially embarrassing when he and his wife had guests over.

Last month uMhlanga ward councillor, Heinz de Boer, told Northglen News there were problems with several sewage pump stations along the coast.

He added that the Eastmoor Crescent pump station only had one functioning pump.

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