ETHEKWINI mayor Cyril Xaba has commended the progress that has been made in the upgrading and restoration of the Northern Wastewater Treatment Works which suffered extensive damage during the floods in 2022.
He made the comments as he led a delegation of executive committee members and senior municipal officials during a site inspection at the treatment works in Sea Cow Lake which are currently being repaired for R500 million.
In December 2021, various role-players raised the alarm over a murky discharge flowing into the uMngeni River from the Northern Wastewater Treatment Works outfall pipe on Willowfield Crescent in Springfield Park.
Also read: Water supply issues continue to hamper North Durban communities
Since then, environmentalists have sounded the alarm for the last few years over the high levels of E. coli found in the uMngeni River.
According to the City, the plant forms part of the 10 wastewater treatment works the municipality is upgrading in collaboration with uMngeni/uThukela Water.
The mayor added that the City has made upgrading the sanitation infrastructure in the city a priority.
“The great strides are being made as evidenced by the water quality of our beaches. Currently, out of 23 swimming beaches, only one is closed, and this demonstrates the hard work we have done to upgrade our treatment works and pump stations, particularly along the coastal line,” said Xaba.
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