THE poor quality of water running through city rivers is worrying. That’s according to Geoff Pullan, DA eThekwini Blue Flag spokesman who said the city had to put comprehensive plans in place to prevent beaches from losing their Blue Flag Status. He added some beach’s might now be at risk.
A few months ago there were reports of the deaths of thousands of fish in South Durban following the contamination of the Isipingo River and Estuary as a result of factory discharges.
Pullan added recent reports of a sewage spill in the oHlanga River which flushes out into the Indian Ocean at the northern end of uMhlanga were worrying.
“While the city has attended to the matter, proper mechanisms need to be enforced if the city wants to retain their Blue Flag statuses. I am concerned that these river spills of faecal matter will eventually wash up onto our beaches. Presently we have four pilot Blue Flag beaches; two at uMdloti, one at uShaka and one at uMgababa.
“Providing that the services and quality of the beaches remains in good standing, these four beaches should progress to full Blue Flag status.
“Our next goal is to apply for more pilot Blue Flag beaches at uMhlanga Main, uMhlanga Bronze and Westbrook Beach. Unfortunately the recent sewage spill in the oHlanga River may result in the city’s failure to get Blue Flag accreditation for these two uMhlanga beaches. We have repeatedly called for qualified personnel in this department as there is a general lack of capacity in experts in this field in their staffing,” Pullan said.
