Public meeting called to address sewage woes plaguing Umgeni River
According to the ward councillor, Shontel de Boer, officials from the eThekwini Sanitation Department are expected to attend the meeting.
HIGH levels of E. coli and the poor water quality in the Umgeni River have prompted Ward 36 councillor Shontel de Boer to host a public meeting on Saturday, October 22.
To underscore the concerns, in August this year, a mass fish kill in the river saw hundreds of fish floating on the surface of the river and along its banks near Blue Lagoon.
“Sewage running into the Umgeni River has been a problem, even before the floods. The residents of the area want answers as to how to get the municipality to act on fixing these various broken sewerage pump stations along the river,” De Boer said.
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“It is time the residents get answers from officials about these ongoing unresolved sewerage issues. I expect the officials from the eThekwini Sanitation Department to attend this meeting with answers and their plans on the way forward,” she said.
The meeting takes place on Saturday, October 22 at 09:00, across the road from the Umgeni River Bird Park.
De Boer’s call comes two weeks after eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said that the City’s plans to fast-track repairs of flood-damaged sewerage infrastructure were underway.
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According to Kaunda, more than R400m is needed to repair sewerage infrastructure.
“We have reprioritised our budget to fast-track much-needed repairs. The estimated cost of the repairs is R160m for pump stations and over R300m for Water Treatment Works,” Kaunda explained. “A number of pump stations and wastewater treatment works, such as Johanna and Ohlange Sewage Pump Stations, are largely responsible for the contamination of our seawater. It is our fervent hope that these all-important repairs will ensure that our beaches are not contaminated so that they can remain open throughout the festive season,” he said.
